


Rogue One: Resurrection

by TheLoneSoldier



Series: RebelCaptain: A Rogue One Story [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Community: scifiland, Community: starwarsficfest, F/M, Gen, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, One True Pairing, RebelCaptain Appreciation Week, RebelCaptain May the Fourth Exchange, Romance, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-09-20 10:06:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 103,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9486476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLoneSoldier/pseuds/TheLoneSoldier
Summary: After the tragic, inevitable deaths of Rogue One, Jyn Erso & Cassian Andor are given a second chance at their lives with a very special artifact. They continue their adventure. But, as the war between the Rebellion and the Empire wages on, a familiar nemesis awaits them. Jyn & Cassian must work to bring peace to the galaxy, while Jyn has a personal vendetta of her own: her revenge.





	1. Resurrection

**Author's Note:**

> CassiJyn a.k.a. RebelCaptain a.k.a. Jassian ship/OTP
> 
> *My take on the scenario if Jyn & Cassian were to survive the events of Rogue One

**Resurrection**

Rogue One completed their mission. The plans were successfully sent to the Rebel fleet just above Scarif’s orbit, and they were ready to retreat to Yavin 4. However, on the other side of the planet was the Empire’s Death Star. Because it was too far away from the Rebel fleet to approach and attack, and because there were too many Imperial air fighters in the vicinity, Admiral Raddus decided for his fleet to retreat. The Death Star’s laser beam had incinerated everything and everyone in a 500-mile radius, including Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor. All of Rogue One was wiped out in the blink of an eye.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, Jyn Erso opened her eyes slowly. She couldn’t feel anything nor see anything for a long moment. Jyn eventually opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw. She was “asleep” in bright white light. Jyn sat up quickly and looked around herself. She saw literally nothing but white.

 

“W-Where am….I!?” Jyn asked herself in great confusion. She stood up on her two feet as she examined herself. She looked as though nothing happened. “Aren’t I….dead?” She wondered. She remembered her quick, inevitable death. She didn’t want to think about it. Not now. Not ever. But she knew she just granted the galaxy a path to a better future. But then she remembered something: someone was there with her. Right there at the beach. She was embracing him like if there was no tomorrow, which was true. She tried to remember.

 

It wasn’t long before a voice suddenly spoke behind her. A male voice. “Jyn!”

 

Upon hearing her name being called out, Jyn instantly turned around and gasped at who she saw. Her eyes widened even more. Cassian was standing in front of her with a handsome smile on his face, with no blaster wounds present on his shoulder. Jyn froze for a moment as she attempted to assess everything. She then ran up to him like the speed of lightning, wrapping her arms around him once again.

 

“CASSIAN!” Jyn exclaimed happily, almost bursting into tears. “I can’t believe it’s you!” She says, looking up at him her green eyes, smiling up at him.

 

Cassian smiles back as he hugs her back, embracing the exact same way they did at the beach in Scarif seconds before their death. “I know, Jyn. We’re together again.”

 

Suddenly realizing their presence, Jyn pulled away from their embrace and fell silent, looking down at the floor. “But….why are we here? I thought we died?” She asked, trying to think harder. Cassian shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Maybe it has something to do with the Force.” Cassian said.

 

Those words sparked an idea in Jyn’s mind. She suddenly remembered something at the beach. She remembered that she was touching her kyber crystal necklace while she was hugging Cassian just as they had died. Her mother gave her the kyber crystal necklace when she was nine years old. Jyn believed in the kyber crystal’s extraordinary power to grant survival, no matter how dangerous the situation was. And Jyn believed in the Force just as her mother had.

 

Jyn pulled out her kyber crystal necklace from her chest and held it up to her face. She was touching Cassian when she was touching her crystal, nobody else. “I think we’re still alive in this afterlife because of my kyber crystal. Does this mean that…..we get a second chance?” She says, looking over to Cassian. Cassian keeps his smile, and chuckles.

 

“Jyn, whatever fate that lies ahead of us, we accept it. If a second chance is the case, then it is as the Force wills it.” Cassian says, smiling at his Sergeant.

 

Hearing his words, Jyn smiles excitedly and embraces him once more. Eventually, she pulled away with her smile fading. “But….Cassian, what about the others?”

 

“Hm?” Cassian asks, tilting his head.

 

“K-2….Chirrut…..Baze…..Bodhi. They’re dead…but we’re not.” Jyn stated her teammates’ names. Tears almost burst from her eyes just as she said them. Cassian sighs and puts one hand on her shoulder.

 

“They are in a better place, Jyn. And they are with us wherever we go. We are Rogue One, no matter what. We are one with the Force, and the Force will be with us.” Cassian says, trying to cheer up his closest comrade. Jyn nods silently.

 

“K-2….well, I can always steal another Imperial security droid and reprogram it.” Cassian jokes, making Jyn chuckle in response and smile up at him.

 

Suddenly, an orange glow appeared behind the two Rebels. They turned around to see a shiny golden door in front of them. Jyn and Cassian look at each other in curiosity. Jyn noticed her kyber crystal was glowing bright white in her hand. “Our second chance…” She whispers.

 

Cassian pats her back. “We’ll take it, Jyn. The other may not have it, but we do. It’s what they would’ve wanted for us, Jyn. We represent them. And I guarantee you, it will make them happier the more we live it.”

 

Jyn looks up at her Captain, gazing into his brown eyes. “I hope so.”

 

“Your mother would’ve wanted it. And your father would’ve wanted it too.” Cassian smiles, and Jyn nodded happily at those words. It was at that moment she brought his face to hers and brought her lips to his. Their lips locked deeply for a very long moment. It was that moment they knew they were to be together from that point on to the infinity of time.

 

“Well then…..looks like we got a life to return to. Shall we, Captain?” Jyn asks happily.

 

Cassian chuckles and holds her hand, with her kyber crystal necklace in-between their locked hands. They walked closer to the golden door together, with Jyn leaning her head against Cassian’s arm. They smiled as they walked. The closer they got to the golden door, the more visible a vision of a young man in tan desert robes became in their minds. The vision showed a young man named Luke Skywalker inside the briefing room of their base at Yavin 4, where they were just at the previous day. Skywalker was with other Rebel pilots, and Mon Mothma was explaining the Rebel air squadron strike on the Death Star’s trench.

 

Jyn and Cassian both smiled at their visions, as they realized that was the result of their success in sending the Death Star schematics to the Rebellion in time. They were proud of themselves for carving a pathway to victory for the Rebellion, and shaving one less victory off the Empire’s list. They had just seen a vision of the man who will destroy the lethal weapon they had feared all because of their sacrifice.

 

Jyn held tightly on Cassian’s hand. He was her Cassian. He was her Captain. She was his Sergeant. Nothing will separate them ever again; even death will never do them part, for they were bonded with the Force and it kept them together spiritually.

 

“For Rogue One, Captain?” Jyn says, smiling up at him.

 

Cassian smiles back down at her and nods. “For Rogue One, Jyn. Always for Rogue One.”

 

With those words said, they open the golden door and step through it. The bright white light fades away behind them, and they randomly enter the front of the Erso House on planet Lah’mu to continue their lives with their second chance the kyber crystal had granted them.


	2. Their Living Legacies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stage 1: Rogue One/A New Hope

**_ Stage 1: Rogue One/A New Hope _ **

**__ **

**Chapter 2: Their Living Legacies**

 

It was near early morning when Jyn and Cassian arrived at her late parents' home on planet Lah'mu, where it served as their own moisture farm when Jyn was seven years old. They had just been granted a second chance at their precious lives by Jyn's kyber crystal necklace, and the golden door in the afterlife teleported them instantly right in front of the Erso house. It was usually dark and cloudy on Lah'mu, but on some parts of the planet it was sunny and clear, and this day it was just that. It set the atmospheric mood for the two Rogue One survivors, for they were very happy with their miracle.

 

Jyn walks the first few steps forward toward her house, which was now rightfully all hers. Everything still looked intact: nothing was damaged nor destroyed. Though there was a terrible memory that Jyn witnessed many years ago: the death of her mother right on the front yard. But it was all behind her now because she wanted to try so hard to forget about it. The pain of losing her parents stuck to her like tar, and she needed to teach herself to let it all go one day. Jyn scans the front yard of her home, then turns to Cassian.

 

"I-Is this....all real?" Jyn asks softly, placing her hands on Cassian's shoulders and squeezing them, trying to confirm it.

 

Cassian places his hands on her arms as well and nods. "It really is. Welcome to our second chance."

 

Jyn then became so happy that she instantly squealed excitedly and happily wrapped her arms around him, embracing him passionately. He did the same, smiling, and they both felt each other's warmth. Cassian looks up to observe the Erso house.

 

"So this is where you and your family lived? It's nice." Cassian comments after releasing from the hug.

 

Jyn releases from the hug too and nods happily. "It's OURS." She stressed the last word.

 

Cassian smiles and places a gentle kiss on her forehead, making her blush and smile excitedly. However, she starts to shiver due to Lah'mu's cold temperatures despite her long-sleeve light jacket and vest. Cassian concludes that it was now the time to enter the house where it would shelter them from the harsh coldness. "Jyn, we should get inside.....and settle." He says in a peculiar way, winking at her.

 

Before Jyn answers back to him, she remains speechless for a moment, blushing and grinning up at her Captain. Then, she nods. "Yes, sir!"

 

((()))

 

Jyn and Cassian settled in her house, where it was warm and safe from the outside environment. It was small and narrow in the Erso house, but it was all Jyn and her parents had. She was thankful for it, and even Cassian was as well. This was the only place she could feel safe from the Empire besides Yavin 4, and she knew she still had the secret hiding spot underground just a quarter mile away. Cassian noticed that Jyn immediately started walking around the house, so he allowed her to check the house, for she missed it so much. He took the opportunity to take a look around as well. He saw photos of Jyn, Galen, and Lyra on a few walls. "They seem like a nice family." Cassian thought. He was glad he didn't choose to pull the trigger in Eadu. He wondered how things might've turned out between he and Jyn if he did kill her father. But, it was all behind them. It was history, and they both accepted the events.

Cassian inspected more of the house until he arrived in her parents’ bedroom. Jyn was sitting on her mother’s side of the bed, where her eyes were glued to the photo of she & her parents on the wall nearby. She was silent: it was as though she didn’t acknowledge Cassian’s presence in the room. Though, he didn’t want to interrupt her moment of silence, Cassian wanted to be heard by her.

 

“Jyn?” Cassian calls to her softly.

 

As Cassian expected, Jyn didn’t turn to face him. She kept starig at the family portrait: it was a portrait with Jyn as a little girl wearing Imperial clothing. It was a photo from back in the day when Galen Erso’s family was living under the support of the Empire and under Orson Krennic’s supervision. Cassian stepped closer to Jyn slowly to see that tears were streaming down her face.

 

“They were the most amazing people I’ve ever had…the most amazing people I’ve ever lived with. And they were just….taken…..away from me. Just like that.” Jyn explains in a very soft voice that was almost inaudible to Cassian. “I remember the day Krennic killed my mother…I was left for dead. When I ran away….I didn’t know what to do anymore.”

 

Cassian sighs and looks down at the ground.

 

“…..Until I found you.” Jyn says expectantly. This causes Cassian to raise his head and shoot her  a surprised look.

 

“Why, Jyn….” Cassian was about to thank her, but she cut him off by turning to him.

 

“The moment I sent those plans, and we both escaped that tower….it patched up everything in my life. And you are part of that…” Jyn says thru her teary, red eyes. She stands up and stands in front of Cassian to look straight up at him with a desperate face. Cassian looks down at his Sergeant: he was now sympathetic for her. He places both hands on her shoulders.

 

They gaze into each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity. It was actually a brief moment later that they immediately press their lips together, kissing each other’s warm, soft lips deeply like as if there was no tomorrow…

 

((()))

 

The two Rebels were outside in front of Jyn’s house in the front yard, lying down on the grass on some sheets. The couple was gazing up into the dark pitch-black night sky, where they watched the bright white stars twinkle. Cassian had setup a small bonfire next to them to keep them warm, for the night was very cold in Lah’mu.

 

They both watch a comet speed down the dark horizon. Jyn then sighs. “Don’t you miss them?”

 

Cassian looks over at her. “Who? You mean….”

 

“The rest of Rogue One. Chirrut, Baze, Bodhi, and that walking piece of metal.” Jyn answers for him.

 

Cassian answers immediately. “Yes, of course. Every second of the day. But your crystal only saved the two of us, Jyn.”

“Yeah…” Jyn sighs sadly, shifting her eyes to other stars in the sky and hoping to find a constellation. “Cassian?”

 

“Yes, Jyn?” He asks.

 

“You see those stars?” Jyn asks when she points to a group of stars making a pattern in the night sky. “There’s K-2. That one’s Bodhi. That one’s Chirrut. That one is Baze. This one is Saw. That one over there is mother. And the one next to it is….father.” Jyn says, naming each star with every point.

 

Cassian smiles at the stars when he notices they make a circular pattern. “They’re our family circle of eternity.”

 

“The Force is with them. And with us. And they are with us everywhere we go.” Jyn softly declares.

 

“The stars gaze down at us at night. They are watching us from up there, Jyn. We’re their living legacies…” Cassian declares almost quietly as they both turn on their sides to lock with each other’s eyes. They gaze at each other for a long moment before wrapping their arms around each other and cuddle into the cold, starry night.


	3. His True Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I realized there was a flaw in the previous chapter. According to the Wookiepedia website, fans state that the Erso house was burned down by Orson Krennic's orders after he killed Lyra Erso, captured Galen Erso, and attempted to find Jyn. However, in the Rogue One movie it is never shown being burned down, nor does Krennic say to burn the house. I've never read the Rogue One book, but maybe that's where it occurred. I am merely just basing my story off from what we are given in the movie. With that said, I will just use the Erso house as a setting for my story.)

**Chapter 3: His True Kiss**

The next day, Cassian opens his eyes slowly; it was very bright in the bedroom. That meant that there was broad daylight outside in Lah’mu. The first thing he remembers is the previous night, where he and Jyn were having their moment together on the front yard gazing up at the stars: their ‘friends’ and ‘family.’ He notices Jyn sleeping next to him, with her back turned to him since she was sleeping on her side. Cassian couldn’t help but smile at her sleeping figure. She was wearing a pair of white long sleeve sleeping attire. He felt very comfortable just being next to her, and he always wondered why.

 

Cassian threw aside the blanket and was about to get up, when suddenly he heard shifting blankets behind him. He knew Jyn had awaken, and that she was staring at his back from behind. Unsure as to why, Cassian’s lips formed a smile.

 

“Good morning, Captain Andor.” Jyn says in a seductive manner, in which a grin forms on her face through her brunette bed-hair.

 

Cassian blushes and slowly turns around to see the very woman he cares about most smiling at him and sitting up from the bed. “Good morning, Sergeant Erso.”

 

Jyn chuckles and decides to play along. “Sleep well?”

 

Cassian shakes his head while smiling, then shrugs his shoulders. “Whenever I am with you.”

 

That made Jyn blush twice as harder than him. “Umm…fancy a breakfast? I think mother left some goods over there in the..uhh…kitchen.” Jyn asks Cassian nervously.

 

Cassian felt that Jyn was nervous because they were together, alone in this part of the planet Lah’mu, and he was completely fine by it. “Why, thank you, Sergeant. It must sound like a delicious one.”

 

Jyn laughs and gets up from the bed to enter her mother’s closet to change into whatever was available the last time her mother was alive fifteen years ago. Jyn realizes that her old clothes from when she was seven years old was in her old bedroom, but of course it won’t fit her. Jyn was twenty-one years old now, and she decided to take on her mother’s clothing.

 

Cassian checks Galen Erso’s closet, finding some jackets, crew pants, and some clothes that appeared to be farmer’s clothing. However, there was one piece of clothing in Galen’s closet that caught Cassian’s eye. It was all gray. It looked formal. It looked superior. It looked like it was meant to be worn by a man of authority. In the corner of closet, hidden behind all of the other clothes, was Galen Erso’s Imperial uniform that he wore during his time as the lead scientist of Director Orson Krennic’s Death Star project in the Galactic Empire.

 

Cassian’s smile fades the moment he sees it. Given the events that he and Jyn just went through recently, he did not want to think about it now. He shakes off the thought and calls out to Jyn. “Are you okay with me wearing your father’s clothes? There’s nothing much for me here.”

 

“Of course, Cassian!” Jyn calls back to him while changing.

 

Cassian grabs a pearl-white long sleeve shirt and green pants from Galen’s closet and proceeds to dress himself for the day.

 

((()))

 

Jyn was in the kitchen, where she was preparing some breakfast for the two of them. She tried to hurry up to finish making breakfast before Cassian came.  But Cassian showed up nevertheless. Right when he entered the kitchen, he stopped in his tracks when he eyed Jyn from head to toe, then back to head. His eyebrows rose in response to what he saw: Jyn was wearing a farmer’s attire, very likely her mother’s, Lyra’s farming dress. It consisted of tan robes with a brown cloak over it and a red sash around her waist. Most noticeably, Jyn’s brunette hair was more tidy to give it that worker’s look to her overall appearance.

 

Jyn turns to Cassian. “Breakfast is ready. Cassian…?”

 

Cassian tries to hide a blush and just smiles slightly. “Yes, of course.” It was all Cassian could respond with. No matter how Jyn looked like, he loved her. She is that precious to him.

 

The two Rebels sit down on the white round table, where they face each other. Cassian couldn’t keep his eyes off Jyn. He kept thinking, “ _Hideous dress, but she is cute…_ ” Jyn wanted to ask him what was the matter since he had this excited expression on his face, but she realized it wouldn’t help asking. She proceeds to take a bite of her food, while Cassian does the same, slowly.

 

After swallowing, Cassian smiles and tilts his head. “So…your mother did a lot of work around here?”

 

Jyn nods and takes another bite. “Yeah. But she wasn’t the only one. Dad helped too, of course.”

 

“I bet it was very quiet…” Cassian mutters just loud enough for Jyn to hear.

 

“Peaceful, actually.” Jyn mentions while sipping from a glass of tea

 

Cassian nods and winks at her, to which Jyn gives him a funny look. The two continue to eat in silence for the rest of the meal time.

 

((()))

 

It was the afternoon, and Jyn decided it was time for them to start working the field of crops outside their homestead. It rained a lot on Lah’mu, and it was the perfect place for their food to grow. That was why Jyn was dressed up in her mother’s farming dress. Cassian stood beside her with his hands on his hips and a confused look on his face.

 

“Cassian…if we’re going to live here, we have to really live here.” Jyn says while looking up at him.

 

Cassian frowns and shrugs his shoulders. “What does that mean?”

 

“We have to work over here besides living in the house. There aren’t much people on this planet, so we have to grow and harvest our own food. Mother and father did it every day when I was little.” Jyn explains. She notices Cassian looking down at the ground. “It’s fine if you don’t want to. I’ll do the labor.”

 

Cassian immediately looks down at her and shakes his head. “No! No, no no! Of course I’ll help you. A man’s got to do his duties.”

 

With his mind made up, Jyn smiles at him and she makes a hand gesture behind her. A white service droid appeared. It was an SE-2 service droid, and its main function was farming. Cassian stares at the droid curiously. “What does it do?” Cassian asks.

 

“It helped mother and father with the farming work back in the day. I am surprised it is still operational after all these years. This is just about the only help we have around here.” Jyn declares, patting SE-2.

 

Cassian shrugs. “Let’s get to work, shall we, Sergeant?”

 

Jyn curls her lips in response before grabbing some harvesting equipment. Cassian was always curious about Jyn. He always wondered how her life was before he arrested her for Rebellion recruitment. He always wondered why she had a sudden change of heart the moment she was being interviewed by him, Mon Mothma, and the other officers that day. Jyn being a former criminal was one thing that Cassian couldn’t bear to dwell over, but Jyn living a farmer’s life was a totally different thing. It was a surprising fact that got Cassian wondering about Jyn. Considering the fact that he now lives with a woman who is a farmer, was a former criminal, and a Rebel, he was very sure he was in for a challenging life that could possibly be more challenging than his life was from the age of six to his first death.

 

((()))

 

It was the early evening. The dark clouds began to settle over the black & green landscapes around the Erso homestead. The sun was setting, and nightfall was about to arrive. The two Rebels got done harvesting all the crops they could, with the help of the Erso’s SE-2 farming droid. Jyn was in the kitchen washing the crop, while Cassian limped through the doorways into the kitchen. He was quite exhausted from all the manual labor, despite being a highly trained Rebel Intelligence field Officer. It was then he immediately knew how difficult his new life was going to be, because he would have to farm crops with Jyn all the time. But he didn’t mind at all. Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso is the only person that matters to him in the entire galaxy, nothing else and no one else. He didn’t care what happens to him. He didn’t care how hard something will come by in his second chance of life. Cassian Jeron Andor finally figured out his true home. His true home was his true love: Jyn.

 

“Cassian, I will make our supper in a few minutes-“ Jyn says before being cut off by Cassian, who suddenly appears beside her at the sink while she was washing a potato. It startled her.

 

“Jyn…?” Cassian says in a soft, low voice. He stares down at Jyn directly into her emerald green eyes like as if he wanted to lock feelings through their eyes.

 

Jyn couldn’t help but gaze into Cassian’s brown eyes. She wasn’t smiling. She just gazed. “C-Cassian?”

 

They stared at each other for a very long moment. Within that long moment, the only sound that loomed the air around them was the sound of the kitchen sink’s water faucet running to wash the potatoes. Cassian decided to break the silence. “I love you. I truly, truly love you…”

Before Jyn could reply, Cassian immediately lunges forward, placing his lips onto her lips, and he kissed her deeply. Though, they were both sweaty with their farming clothes drenched in sweat and particles of soil, Cassian didn’t care. Cassian didn’t care if his beloved Sergeant was sweaty with untidy wet hair and smelled like the sun outside. Jyn was beautiful in so many ways to Cassian, and that is what made him cherish her.

 

Cassian finally pulls away from the kiss. When Jyn opens her eyes, she notices that Cassian had no smile on his face, only a stale blank face. Before she could say anything in response to the unexpected kiss & the stale face, Cassian instantly turns around to walk away swiftly into their bedroom without saying a word to her.

 

It was that moment that Jyn felt her heart sink. She turned to face the sink again, but her actions were halted from her mind’s clouded state of shock & confusion. _“Does he really love me!?”_ Jyn thought to herself with jaw slightly open and eyes slightly widened. She remembers that Cassian did kiss her yesterday, but that was because she was crying from reminiscing about her deceased parents. She thought he was being friendly and supportive at that moment. But this kiss felt much different, and it both surprised and concerned her.

 

Suddenly, Jyn’s kyber crystal necklace glows underneath her mother’s farming dress. Jyn holds her crystal necklace, keeping it grasped firmly in her hand. All Jyn did was stare down at the running sink in front of her. Jyn’s mind was now being clouded with questions. She doesn’t know what to feel at the moment. But she now knows one thing: her Captain truly loves her from the bottom of his heart.


	4. Heart's Moment of Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for an intense and emotional conversation between RebelCaptain! <3 Enjoy!

**Chapter 4: Heart’s Moment of Truth**

It was the end of the night. It was silent at dinner, for Jyn and Cassian refused to speak a single word to each other the entire time. To Jyn, it was shocking for her to hear those powerful words being said from her Captain’s mouth. That caused Jyn to be in deep thought from dinner all the way to bed time. Jyn wanted to refrain from saying anything to Cassian….

 

…..until she appeared at her bedroom’s doorway.

 

Noticing that they both were dressed and ready for bed, Jyn saw that Cassian was sitting on his side of the bed. He was mesmerized on a photo of every member of their Rogue One unit taken the day prior to their mission on Scarif. He kept the photo in his wallet, so that he felt that Chirrut, Baze, K-2SO, Bodhi, and Jyn were with him every second of every day. Jyn couldn’t keep her eyes off Cassian’s back. She didn’t smile. She only had a concerned, blank poker face. Her arms were crossed and she was leaning against the door, which meant  she wasn’t in a content mood, not after what Cassian just declared a couple of hours earlier…

 

Jyn decides to pluck up the courage and takes a few steps into the bedroom. Her heart raced with every step. She was growing nervous.

 

“….Why me?” Jyn asks out of nowhere, causing Cassian to look up from his photo and turn around to look at her.

 

“W….What?” Cassian asks confusingly.

 

“WHY ME!?” Jyn asks more loudly this time, sounding just about aggressive. This causes Cassian’s heart to rise up in his throat and cause the tightening feeling.

 

“What do you mean?” Cassian asks with furrowed brows.

 

Jyn frowns. “All of a sudden you say you love me…..why now? After what we’ve just been through…” She tells Cassian in a soft voice, but it sounds as if she was hurt from the inside.

 

At that exact moment, Cassian wanted to answer, but he couldn’t. He could not find the words. He only shifted his eyes and head to look down at the floor in dismay. Jyn watched him, and she decided to carry on.

 

“You barely even know me.” Jyn mentions, shaking her head slightly. Still, no answer from Cassian.

 

“You were the one who got me into that whole mess!” Jyn exclaims loudly, startling Cassian. “It was great that we fought in a war and we sent the Death Star plans together and gave peace to the galaxy…..but us….I don’t know about us, Cassian.”

 

“What did you think was going to happen? Hm?” Cassian suddenly spoke, surprising Jyn and causing her to blink her eyes.

 

“What!?” Jyn says, feeling jumped at.

 

Cassian looks up at her, dead straight into her emerald green eyes. “Even if we did survive Scarif, for real,….how did you think things were going to turn out? I told you three days ago, Jyn……if you completed that mission with us, you were free to go.”

 

There was a moment of silence between them. Jyn keeps her eyes in contact with Cassian’s eyes.

 

“So?” She says.

 

“Tell me, Jyn. Why did you participate in the mission? Who were you doing it for?” Cassian begins inquiring Jyn.

 

Jyn blinks her eyes in confusion. “WHAT?” She exclaims loudly after crossing her arms.

 

“Were you doing it for the Rebellion? Were you doing it for the galaxy? Were you just doing it for your father? Or were you just doing it…..” Cassian pauses for a second, then finishes. “…..for me?”

 

Jyn’s jaw drops. She felt offended, and she felt like slapping Cassian for that. “HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME LIKE THAT!” Jyn yells at her Captain.

 

“Then what was that hug at the beach!?” Cassian says, raising his voice. Though, he didn’t want to raise it too high as to not irritate Jyn further.

 

“T-that…that was…” Jyn struggles to find an answer.

 

“That was what!?” Cassian asks.

 

“I DON’T KNOW!” Jyn yells, clenching her fists. She felt anger pumping through her veins and with every breath. She was giving Cassian a furious look now.

 

Cassian sighs and looks away again down at the floor.

 

Jyn sighs as well and shakes her head. She crosses her arms again. “Why are we here, Cassian?”

 

Cassian shrugs his shoulders. “I-It was meant to be.”

 

“You mean us!?” Jyn exclaims. “You know, Andor, I had every chance to kill you…”

 

“What?” Cassian says while still not looking at her. He only had a puzzled facial expression.

 

“You read my file, right?” Jyn says in a serious tone. “I came from a former Imperial family. I’m a farmer. Both of my parents are dead. I was abandoned at fifteen. I grew up around weaponry. I taught myself to fight. I stole Imperial documents. I forged Imperial documents. I’ve cheated. I’ve lied. I’ve been arrested countless times. I was dragged through streets and dirt. I had blasters pointed at me. I’ve been a prisoner. I was a former criminal. I am a reckless woman, Cassian Andor.” Jyn explains. It was that moment that she felt both of her eyes stinging because tears were close to bursting from them, due to the way she described herself. "I'VE BEEN THROUGH HELL, CASSIAN!" Jyn yells angrily despite the tears attempting to burst from her eyes.

 

Cassian remains silent.

Jyn bites her lips in an attempt to suppress her tears. “And here you come along. You turned me into a Rebel. A criminal turned Rebel. Do you realize who you were with the entire time, Cassian!?” Jyn asks with a raised voice. Tears were at the edge of bursting. Cassian still remains quiet while feeling some shame.

 

“I’M JUST AS DANGEROUS AS ANY STORMTROOPER IN THE GALAXY! I’M NOT A WOMAN YOU SHOULD BE WITH!” Jyn screams out angrily, with the tears finally bursting from her eyes. The tears dripped down her cheeks like rainfall.

 

It was that exact moment that Cassian slammed the photo of Rogue One down on his bedside table as hard as he could, and stood up on both feet off from the bed. He pointed at Jyn, and his face now held a very serious expression. “THAT IS NOT TRUE…” He declares with a clear, serious voice.

 

Jyn looks up at Cassian from the other side of their bedroom through her tears. “Really? Then tell me. Why did we deserve this second chance, and not the others?”

 

Cassian takes some steps closer to her so that he is now just a few feet from her. “Because I…I wanted it to start perfectly.”

 

Jyn gives Cassian a half furious and half sad facial expression with tears in her eyes and tear trails wet on her cheeks. “IT!? WHAT IS ‘IT’, CASSIAN!? WHAT IS ‘IT’ THAT WE ARE!?” She yells at him.

 

“I may not have trusted you at first, but I judged you well in the end, and I knew you had good heart in you. You know I trust you now.” Cassian assures her with a calm tone.

 

Jyn glares at Cassian. “Yeah….like how you did not trust me with my blaster on day one? Like how you deceived me, and lied to me, about killing MY father. Yeah, talk about trust…”

 

Cassian shakes his head. “I was ordered to, but I chose not to kill him, Jyn! Remember what you told me? Trust goes both ways.” He reminds her.

 

Jyn looks down at the floor and sniffles. She doesn’t attempt to wipe away her tears before looking back up at Cassian. “Why? Why do you love me? Why do you truly love me, out of anyone else in the entire galaxy?” She asks with a calm tone this time.

 

Cassian thought about it for a moment. It was a good question, Cassian thought. He knew what to say.

 

“Because….you were meant to be my Stardust.” He quietly declares.

 

Jyn still stares at Cassian through tears, but she remains silent, indicating that she was willing to listen, thus allowing Cassian to continue.

 

“I lost my family at a very young age. My whole life, I had this void in my soul that I thought would never fill…..until I met you, Jyn.” Cassian states, causing Jyn to stare up at him with a more confident face. “You’re everything I wished for…and only you can fill that void. Both of us can fill our voids now. We need to fight back this suffering, and move forward TOGETHER.”

 

Jyn glances to the side for a split second, then returns her teary glare to Cassian.

“But-“ Jyn begins before being cut off by Cassian.

 

“Jyn. If Rogue One was here with us right now, this is what they would happily wish for us. There is no shame in that. From up there….they are with us every step of the way, believe it or not. And I’m very sure that your mother and your father would’ve been so proud of you. They would want the best for their only daughter, their only child.”

 

More tears burst from Jyn’s eyes. She tries to blink them away, but the tears were too abundant.

 

“Only Stardust can fill the hole in my heart...” Cassian declares with the most confident and enthusiastic tone Jyn has ever heard from him. Cassian steps closer to her so that he was standing right in front of her. He looked down at her, and she looked up at him through the tears.

 

Cassian whispers. “You’re my reckless Rebel….you’re my Sergeant…..YOU…..are meant to be my true love.”

 

Cassian places his hands on Jyn’s shoulders gently. Noticing him do so, she allows him to touch her now that her mood has begun to chill to a much calmer level.

 

“Because, Jyn Erso, I miss you….I want you….I need you….I love you…..” Cassian whispers in her ear.

 

Jyn’s lips began to form a very slight smile as the tears trickle down her face more slowly this time.

 

“….like crazy.” Cassian finishes. He slowly wraps his arms around Jyn the same way he did on the beach in Scarif. It was like that for a very long moment. Then, Jyn wraps her arms around Cassian’s waist, signifying that she did indeed trust him after all. She buries her wet, teary face into Cassian’s warm chest where she feels his strong heartbeat under his muscular chest. She felt confident in him, and she felt that she could place her faith in him as he placed his faith in her. That sense of compassion and affection came from the Force, and they were one with it.

 

Jyn spoke with a muffled voice. “….I love you too, Captain.”

 

It was that moment that Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso and Cassian Jeron Andor were officially in love.


	5. Locked Lips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (This chapter contains adult content. Read at your own risk and/or with parental supervision).

**Chapter 5: Locked Lips**

Jyn was mixed with emotions deep inside her heart. She was confused, angry, sad, happy, in awe, and mind blown all at the same time. She wanted to go outside and scream. She wanted to puke her guts out. She felt miserable, yet she wondered why she couldn’t feel more happy because of one thing: her Captain finally confessed his love for her.

 

Cassian places two fingers under Jyn’s chin and angles her face upwards, so that she was locking eyes with him through teary bloodshot eyes and tears rolling down her face. He didn’t mind the cry, because it was a sign: a sign that told him that Jyn accepted his true love for her. Because they had met three days prior and they had just saved the galaxy from the Empire’s Death Star, it was an unexpected confession, but powerful & joyful it was. Cassian couldn’t imagine a more beautiful moment than this one.

 

He gazes into Jyn’s emerald green eyes, admiring every centimeter of them. She scanned her eyes all over his face; she thought his beard made him look cute. The stare lasted for what seemed like forever. It was as if they didn’t want to stop staring into each other’s eyes. For the two Rebels, this moment was a moment where they felt each other’s true feelings for one another without saying words. All they had to do was look at each other and touch each other to feel the mutual emotions and experiences between them. They were one, as the Force has now made them.

 

It wasn’t long before Jyn’s stifled breaths and her chest became more calm from her cries. She was calm, while looking up at Cassian with red, wet eyes. She looked sad, but really, she loved him back. Her kyber crystal necklace underneath her night dress began to glow. The Force felt their strong feelings for each other, and it was surrounding them at the moment. Though, Jyn acknowledged that her crystal necklace was glowing, she still gazes at Cassian while Cassian takes a quick glance at it. Every time Jyn’s kyber crystal glowed, it made her look more beautiful to his brown eyes.

 

Both of them have been through a lot throughout their lives during the Galactic war with the Empire. They have been through hell. But yesterday…

 

…they rose from the ashes.

 

They were thankful for the second chance the Force willed them. They knew that they could use the big opportunity to start this new life together, and they wanted to live it for their deceased teammates, Rogue One, as well as their parents.

 

Cassian wipes away the tears off Jyn’s cheeks with his thumb. Then he gently strokes aside the strands of hair away from one side of her head. She was beautiful to him…

 

He is her Captain.

 

She is his Sergeant.

 

He is 27.

She is 21.

 

He is tall. She is short.

 

He’s been a Rebel his whole life.

 

She was an Imperial and a criminal, but then she became a Rebel.

 

They had so many differences, but their recent mission and resurrection has brought them closer to each other: so close that no other relationship in the galaxy could achieve. Their feelings were connected like an invisible web by the Force from any distance. It was the ultimate relationship.

 

((()))

 

Cassian couldn’t hold in his emotions anymore. He couldn’t lock them in his chest any longer. Cassian slowly places his hands on Jyn’s shoulders, causing her to gasp. After taking one long look into her eyes, Cassian slowly brings his lips to Jyn’s soft pink lips. He kisses her deeply, inhaling through his nose to enjoy the kiss.

 

Jyn felt as though a bolt of lightning shot up through her body. But, it was only her body’s response to Cassian’s deep kiss. Jyn closes her eyes slowly and returns the kiss. She felt nervous, yet so happy.

 

Cassian pulls away and opens his eyes to find Jyn looking up into his eyes with very strong confidence. Her puppy eyes made her look so innocent and so very cute, and Cassian never felt more relieved around a person in his life than Jyn. She was his safe haven.

 

Jyn reaches up to touch Cassian’s cheek. She whispers in a soft innocent voice. “Cassian…”

 

Cassian already knew what she wanted. She wanted him. Only him. She didn’t have to say anything more, because he knew her well already. This second chance had seemed to enhance him as a person.

 

Cassian slowly strips down the white night dress off Jyn’s slim, short body. Feeling the dress slide past her breasts made Jyn gasp and whimper slightly. It felt like an ice-cold tickle to her. But she ignores the feeling and only focuses on Cassian. She was now in her underwear and night bra. Of course, like any other woman in the galaxy, she was usually sensitive and protective of her own body, but this was different. Cassian didn’t mind, and Jyn didn’t mind either. She allowed her Captain to undress and see her almost-naked.

 

Cassian couldn’t help it. His heart rate began to increase. It was his stomach filling with emotions of love. He wanted Jyn.

 

Cassian lunges forward and places another deep kiss, and they keep kissing repeatedly while Cassian removes his night shirt, therefore exposing his muscular torso. Jyn wrapped her arms around Cassian’s waist to bring herself closer to his warm body, and she angles her head upward a little bit more to deepen the kiss.

 

Cassian then hooks both of his arms under Jyn’s shoulders, so that his hands grabbed ahold of her shoulders from behind her, which brought him in close to Jyn’s almost-naked body as well. He couldn’t stop kissing her. It felt so good and so relieving, he didn’t want the kiss to ever end. This was the moment he thought he would never live, and he was so happy to actually live it.

 

“I love you….I love you…..so much….” Cassian exhales in between kisses.

 

Jyn acknowledges his declaration and kisses him even harder. She moans slightly when Cassian starts to kiss her neck. She loved the feeling, for she never felt it before. It was time for a break, she thought, and this was the perfect break away from a Rebel’s daily work for her.

 

After a few minutes, they both end up sitting down on the bed still kissing each other deeply and passionately in the lips. They were releasing all their fears, and all their angers, and all their sadness, and all their memories, including the battle at Scarif. Their kisses solved everything for them. It was their ticket to getting away from life for a short while.

 

When Cassian felt that they were both about to lie down on the bed from the intense kissing, he immediately reaches both hands behind Jyn’s head to undo her bun, and her hair falls straight down to her shoulders. She is very beautiful, Cassian thought. Cassian realized that Sergeant Jyn Erso was truly the one for him.

 

As they lie down in bed and continue making love to each other, Cassian wraps the sheets around them and proceeds kissing Jyn’s covered chest area, causing her to moan in pleasure a little more loudly. Soon enough, they were both beginning to sweat from their movements. But Cassian didn’t mind. It was just the two of them together now, away from conflict and in peace.

 

Jyn’s kyber crystal necklace continues to glow throughout the night as the two Rebels make their love for each other.

 

_Three hours later_

Jyn was straddling on top him while still in her underwear and bra. She runs her fingers around his bare smooth chest. She also runs her fingers over the scar of the blaster shot wound that was inflicted by Director Orson Krennic the previous day. She loved that wound’s scar. She loved it because Cassian took the hit to protect her and allow her to send the Death Star plans. That is how she knows he loves her so much: he did it out of love. Cassian Andor is her guardian angel.

 

Cassian lie on his back with Jyn on top of him. He looks up at her, admiring her glowing kyber crystal necklace and her beautiful slim body underneath the white bra & underwear. Jyn notices him looking.

 

“For your eyes only, Captain Andor…” Jyn says softly.

 

Cassian smiles and nods in acknowledgement as he begins to close his eyes from heavy eyelids.


	6. The Beauty Under the Dirt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: (I really teared up and got emotional when writing the last few paragraphs of this chapter. This is how precious RebelCaptain OTP is to me, and is my all-time ship. I would appreciate it if you at least leave reviews or feedback, and tell me how you like it. I put a lot of heart into this chapter. Thank you. Enjoy.)

**Chapter 6: The Beauty Under the Dirt**

It felt like an eternity before Cassian opened his eyes slowly. His eyelids felt heavy, but he resisted the urge to fall back asleep because it was now sunny outside and the bedroom filled with bright light through the window curtains. Cassian sits up and rubs his eyes to clear up his vision. The first thing he notices is that he was half-naked: he had no shirt on, but he only had his night slacks on. Then he remembers. “ _Last night…._ ” Cassian finally recalls to himself in his head.

 

He heard shifting next to him. Cassian turns to see Jyn finally awake and eyeing him in the eyes. She didn’t look tired. She looked ready: ready to start another day with her Captain.

 

Cassian reaches over to place his hand on top of her hand. She interlocks her fingers with his, and she gently squeezes his hand to express her affection. Jyn and Cassian both give each other a long stare; there is a long moment of silence between them. They admire each other.

 

“Hello, love.” Cassian finally breaks the silence. He smiles and brushes aside some hair off Jyn’s forehead.

 

Jyn doesn’t smile. She just stares with her forest green eyes. But, really, she was smiling in the inside. She wasn’t really a morning person. “Cassian….” It was all she could mutter out. Cassian then reaches over to place a gentle kiss on Jyn’s cheek, making her smile. She did indeed remember what they did last night, and she felt no shame in it. She now wanted to spend the rest of her second chance with Cassian to the fullest. She became motivated the moment Cassian declared his true deep love for her.

 

Cassian crawled closer to Jyn on the bed, and he lay his head on her shoulder.

 

_An hour and a half later_

The two Rebels were sitting down at the table, face-to-face. They were having their breakfast, and it was going smoothly, somewhat. Jyn and Cassian were both exchanging different kinds of smiles and funny faces with each other as they ate.

 

Though, they were getting nervous due to the looming silence in the Erso house and the constant staring at each other, they nevertheless wanted to get used to being comfortable with each other.

 

A few minutes passed, and Jyn ordered her SE-2 droid to pick up their dishes off the table. Cassian straightened up in his chair and watched Jyn get up off her chair and walk towards him. He looks up at her and smiles, admiring the dark green shirt she was wearing.

 

“I need to go check the moisture vaporators outside. Then we’ll meet at the field for harvest. One hour.” Jyn informs Cassian.

 

While still sitting on his chair, Cassian shifts his eyes to the floor for a moment. Jyn waits for a response. Then Cassian nods and looks up at her. “Yeah…”

 

Jyn turns around and is about to walk away when she suddenly feels Cassian grab ahold of her wrist instantly, like the speed of lightning. For a split second it feels uncomfortable because Cassian grips it tightly. Jyn stands there, a little hesitant about the awkward sudden moment. Her wrist was hurting slightly.

“Jyn…” Cassian says in a soft voice. Jyn turns to him with curious eyes.

 

They look into each other’s eyes for a very long moment. Cassian keeps his grasp on his Sergeant’s wrist. He keeps her waiting, wondering what he wants to say or what his next move will be. Then in an instant, Cassian pulls down Jyn so that she is sitting right on his laps, coming face-to-face with him. For a second, she is confused, but she then realizes what Cassian wants to do. She felt half scared and half excited. Her breaths became more rapid, her heart rate increased, and her hormone levels shot up to the extreme. She knew he wanted her right now.

 

Cassian places his hands on Jyn’s hips and starts kissing her passionately in the lips. Jyn moans in pleasure because that’s exactly what she wants. It was a perfect way to start her day. She wraps her arms around her Captain’s neck and reciprocates every single kiss they share on that chair. “Oh, Cassian…” Jyn gasps in between kisses. “….you’re my man.”

 

_Two hours later_

 

Jyn and Cassian was outside performing the daily labor outside in the fields that the Ersos owned. They dug and collected the crops under the harsh, cold, windy conditions of the lush planet Lah’mu. They were used to it, but they were getting exhausted by the minute from all the excessive hauling.

 

Jyn, in one of her mother’s farming dresses, hands some vegetables to SE-2, which then carries it over to the reservoir in the basement. Jyn wipes the drips of sweat off her face. Her brunette hair was damp and was getting in the way of her eyes, so she strokes her hair aside. Cassian stands up straight to relieve some pressure and stress off his lower back from all the bending down and all the shoveling. He was sweating as well, and his white long sleeve shirt was dirtied from the soil.

 

Jyn looks over at Cassian and smiles slightly, which Cassian does the same to her in return. However, Cassian couldn’t keep his eyes off Jyn. There is sweat and bits of dirt on her face. She looks exhausted and fatigued, and it looks like she can use a day’s rest. Despite Jyn looking like a hard-working manual laborer, Cassian thought that Jyn looked beautiful nonetheless. No matter what, Jyn Erso is and will always be beautiful to him.

 

Cassian approaches Jyn.

 

“C-Cassian?” Jyn asks, widening her eyes slightly.

 

Cassian doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around her and pull her in close to his body. He places those smooth lips of his onto Jyn’s soft sweaty lips. She becomes instantly confused just like earlier in the kitchen; she wonders why Cassian was kissing her at a time like this. She is all sweaty, dirty, and she even smells like ground soil at the moment.

 

But Cassian doesn’t care. He loves Jyn in all types of ways. He loves her no matter what. She is everything to him.

 

Jyn exhales into the kiss and inhales for more air before going along with the kisses. She places her arms around Cassian’s waist and continues to kiss him while waiting for SE-2 to return.  “What…is…..up….with yo….today?” Jyn says to him in between kisses, but Cassian ignores her question from the barrage of deep kisses.

Cassian knows Jyn is his soul mate forever. She is the beauty hidden underneath the dirt.

 

((()))

 

It is a few hours later, and it is close to sunset. The gray clouds start to fade away miles away from the Erso homestead, allowing golden rays of sunset rays to shine at the area where Jyn’s house is. It becomes less windy and less cold near the house. It was a long day of hard work for both Jyn and Cassian. After the two Rebels wash up in the shower and dress up in fresh clothes, Jyn decides to take a stroll along the beach a few miles away from her house, and she wants Cassian to come along.

 

“Cassian, I want to show you the beach over there.” Jyn points towards the shore, where the ocean blue waters can be seen from the Erso house.

 

Though, Cassian hears her question, Jyn saying the word ‘beach’ reminds him of the moment that somewhat haunt him to this day: their last moments in each other’s arms on the Scarif beach.

 

“Cass?” Jyn tilts her head curiously, wondering what is wrong.

 

“N-Nothing, Jyn. We can take a look.” Cassian finally answers her, smiling in the process. “Anything for you, my Stardust.”

 

Jyn smiles so excitedly that she hugs him firmly.

 

Cassian follows Jyn to the underground basement of the homestead. He notices it is dark inside. Jyn proceeds into the basement. “What’s in here?”

 

Jyn turns on the lights and reveals a gray two-seater commuting speeder that was parked in the middle of the basement. “This is where my father kept his own personal speeder.”

 

Cassian nods and tilts his head as he admires it. “Nice.”

 

“He liked driving it around with mother. Whenever he was having a hard time with something, he would take this out into the fields. You know, having fun with it.” Jyn explains while running her fingers across the speeder’s front end.

 

“Joyride. I like that.” Cassian says with a mischievous wink, to which Jyn tilts her head as a sarcastic response.

 

Jyn grabs the key and hops into the driver’s seat, with Cassian hopping into the passenger’s seat after her. Jyn inserts the key into the ignition and turns it, causing the engine to start up with a loud revving sound. Upon hearing the vicious-sounding engine, Cassian shifts his eyes over to Jyn. She smiles.

 

“I can’t believe it still works after all these years!” Jyn exclaims. Cassian smiles and pats her shoulder before she shifts the speeder into gear and exits the basement from the ramp leading to the surface.

 

As soon as they reached the front yard of the Erso house, Jyn pushes down the pedal to the floor as hard as she can, and the speeder zooms off quickly like lightning. The engine roars with gradually increasing notes, and Jyn shifts the gears, eventually having the speeder reach its top speed. The increasingly strong winds gushed against their faces as the speeder hovered above the grass and soil over a stretch of a few miles away from the Erso house.

 

It wasn’t long before they reached the shore of the roaring waves coming from the ocean. Jyn clicks the speeder in park and shuts off the engine before climbing out with Cassian. Cassian holds Jyn’s hand, much to Jyn’s content, and they walk slowly towards the beach. The winds from the ocean blew across the shoreline. The breeze felt cool to Jyn’s and Cassian’s faces; it set a tranquil mood for their moment together alone at the Lah’mu beach. It seemed like a long walk, but it wasn’t when they arrived right in front of the tides.

 

The two Rebels look out into the distance, towards the horizon where the ocean met the sky, where it looked as though there was no end to the ocean. The skies were blue & pink, and the golden rays of sunlight shined across the landscape and lit Jyn’s and Cassian’s faces. They stand there on the sand, together side-by-side, with hands intertwined.

 

The moment reminds Cassian of the exact moment that they stood at the beach in Scarif, watching death coming at them from miles away. He greatly despised the memory, but it was also a beautiful moment for him and Jyn to be on a beach, this time alive, together. Cassian was very sure that Jyn had the same thought in her mind.

 

Suddenly, Jyn breaks the silence. “My parents always took me here every weekend.” She says. Cassian looks at her, wanting to listen to her go on. “My mother said that it was the only place where they could….be free, you know? From the Empire and such.” Jyn recalls the day her mother gave her the kyber crystal necklace when she was seven years old, the day Orson Krennic found her family and killed her mother & kidnapped her father.

 

Cassian nods. “Yeah. I know what you mean. This place was their….safe haven. The only one, I’m sure of it.”

 

Jyn then looks at him as a wave approaches closely to them. They both sit down on the sand, still holding hands. It was the same way they sat down together at Scarif during their final moments. It was an inevitable death. But now that they were granted a very previous second chance by Jyn’s kyber crystal necklace and the Force, it made her very happy to be in this exact same moment again: sitting with Cassian holding hands on a beach. The sunset simulated how the skies looked when the Death Star fired its laser and the blast site on Scarif became an increasing catastrophe of death that very day: orange.

 

They sit like that for about twenty minutes, before Cassian speaks up.

 

“Now, we’re free.” Cassian says in a soft voice, which sounds almost like a whisper.

 

Jyn looks at Cassian in the eyes. She feels her heart rise to her throat just as he said that. It is true. They are truly free now: truly free to live their moment. Jyn feels like crying, but she holds the tears in.

 

Jyn and Cassian both rise up on their knees together on the sand, facing each other. Cassian is several inches taller than Jyn, but it is so perfect. They wrap their arms around each other and embrace in what is their most affectionate, most passionate, and most loving hug possible. They embraced each other on their knees the same way they embraced each other on the beach in Scarif moments before their tragic inevitable end. Their hug on Scarif resulted from the mutual feelings that they both understood about each other, and from the heated moment that was their coming end: they were in their last moments, and they were desperate to hold each other to hope that the sending of the Death Star plans worked. Jyn and Cassian can feel a strong, unique power encircling them. Jyn’s kyber crystal necklace begins glowing brightly. Jyn then begins to cry: tears roll down her face  and onto Cassian’s shoulder since her head was resting on it in the hug. The Force recognized their intimate moment, and it worked strongly with them to accompany the feelings of love they had for each other, right there on that sand where they were kneeling and hugging with each other.

 

It seemed like an eternity before they decided to pull away from the passionate embrace. Jyn looks up into Cassian’s eyes with her face & eyes now dry of tears. They stare into each other’s eyes for a very long moment, feeling the strong emotional connection between each other. Cassian stands up on his feet, with Jyn standing up after him. Their eyes remain glued to each other. Their eyes were the side-scrolling boards of art that contained all the feelings and memories they have that they could see in each other anytime. Cassian now holds both of Jyn’s hands with his hands, holding them closely to his chest. Jyn looks like she is going to cry, but Cassian ignored it because it looks beautiful when she is about to.

 

Cassian says in a soft voice that sounds almost inaudible. It sounds almost sinister, however. “There….is no Death Star…no Empire….to stop OUR moment now.” Cassian then clenches a very tight fist, indicating that he was about to feel angry from the thought of the Death Star’s laser canon killing them during their hug on that beach.

 

Jyn notices. She nods and reaches up to touch his cheek. “I know. It’s our moment…now, and forever.”

 

The two Rebels close in for a deep, slow, passionate kiss on the lips in the face of the Lah’mu beach’s roaring waves and the golden serene sunset.


	7. Going back

**Chapter 7: Going Back**

Cassian wakes up in bed and rubs his eyes to clear up his vision. His eyes widen when Jyn is nowhere to be found. The spot next to him is vacant, for the blanket was shifted, indicating that Jyn left bed earlier. _“J-Jyn!? Where are you?”_ Cassian asks himself in his mind. Half worried, Cassian struggles to put some quick clothes on from Galen’s closet and starts to walk all around the Erso house looking for his Sergeant.

 

“Jyn!” Cassian calls out. No answer. “Jyn!” He calls again. Still, silence looms the atmosphere of the small Erso home. Cassian goes to check the kitchen, but no luck.

 

However, Cassian notices a bright glow from the corner of his eye. It is so eye-catching that he knows exactly what it is. Cassian turns to the kitchen table to see that Jyn had left her kyber crystal necklace there. It glows bright.

 

“I wonder where she went…” Cassian wonders out loud. He tries to think of where his lover could’ve gone to on this lush, sparse planet that barely had any habitants. “She couldn’t have gone far.”

 

But after a few moments of thinking, Cassian has a slight clue of where she might be. He doesn’t really know where exactly she is, but he felt the Force through him, and it gave him a slight clue of where Jyn is. Cassian heads to the basement downstairs and switches on the ceiling light to find that Galen’s 2-seater speeder is still parked in there. “I’m coming, Jyn.” Cassian mutters to himself as he grabs the keys to the speeder and hops in to start the engine.

 

Cassian drives by the crop fields, scanning all over for Jyn, but she isn’t anywhere to be found. Though, SE-2 was at one of the water vaporators collecting some water, which was good. “Hmm….” Cassian thought. Then, an idea came up in his mind. “The beach!” Cassian blurts out as he turns the speeder around to head towards the beach that they were at the previous day.

 

Once Cassian arrives at the roaring waves of the sky-blue tides, he hops off the speeder and surveys the entire golden shoreline for the short, brunette twenty one year-old woman that he desperately loved so much. Still, she is nowhere to be found. He only ends up finding the footprints left from their visit yesterday. Cassian sighs and rubs his forehead from worry and frustration. “Jyn…where are you? I need you right now.” Cassian mutters in a desperate tone.

 

But something tells Cassian to look somewhere down west of the Erso home. He can feel it in his heart. He looks up from the ground and into the ocean. “Guide me.” Cassian mutters out loud to the Force, before running back to the speeder and taking off in a flash.

 

As the Intelligence Officer drove west down some green fields, he decides to turn on the radio. He just let it run until there is one topic that greatly caught his attention. So, he listens carefully.

 

“The Empire’s so-called Death Star is still lurking through space and poses as an extremely major threat to every planet and every person in the galaxy. The Rebel Alliance has yet to take action or resolve the issue at hand. Will the Rebellion save us? Or will it fail and watch the whole galaxy blow to pieces? Lives are at stake.” The news broadcaster announces on the radio.

 

Hearing that, Cassian’s heart sank. He felt dead. He felt helpless. Although he and his team were able to send the Death Star plans a few days ago, nothing has happened as of now. The Death Star is still active, and it will be any minute before it starts destroying other planets, just like it did to Jedha and Scarif. What greatly terrified Cassian the most is that there could be a possibility that the Death Star could destroy Lah’mu any day if it isn’t destroyed in time, and this really worried him. The Erso home was Cassian’s safe haven too, and he would hate for his second chance with Jyn to be taken away in the blink of an eye.

 

“Oh..ggrrhhh…” Cassian chokes. He feels like crying, but he holds it in his throat. He floors the accelerator pedal hard to speed up the speeder towards the location the Force was guiding him to.

 

Cassian eventually arrives at a rocky ridge that acted as a dead end. He is confused because he is very sure that Jyn is there, but it did not look like the kind of place Jyn would be. Cassian hops out of the speeder and paces around the area with his hands in his pockets. He waits and waits for long moments, but he is persistent.

 

Suddenly, Cassian hears a subtle noise coming from nearby. It comes from near the pile of rocks in front of him. Cassian squints and focuses his hearing: he hears that a sound is coming from near the rocks but below the ground. It sounds like a voice. “Wait a minute…” Cassian mutters.

 

He proceeds towards the rocks when suddenly, a rock ‘lifts’ off the ground and Jyn appears with a brown bag and a glowing object. Cassian’s eyes widen in surprise: it appears that Jyn came from underground, and the rock served as its cover in disguise.

 

“J-JYN!” Cassian yells, with arms out wide. He walks to her.

 

“Hey Cassian.” Jyn greets him, slinging the brown bag over her shoulder.

 

“W-what….what are you doing here!? Down there!?” Cassian asks confusingly. “You had me worried all morning!”

 

“Relax, Cassian. I was just exploring a…” Jyn looks back at the underground hole that she appeared from. “…a very familiar place.”

 

Cassian places his hands on his hips and sighs. He looks down at the glowing object she held. “What is that?”

 

Jyn holds out the object in front of him. Cassian takes it and examines every inch of it. It had a constant pulsing orange light. “That’s my lantern that mother gave me when I was a girl. And that…” Jyn points at the underground’s entrance hole. “…was my hiding spot whenever my parents were in danger and ertrbeing hunted by the Empire. It did happen actually…” Jyn explains, with her voice fading softly near the end.

 

Cassian eyes Jyn for a moment before nodding and understanding what the lantern was used for. He hands Jyn back her lantern and leads her to the speeder. “I drive. And you walked all this way? This is about fifteen miles away from the house.” Cassian complains as he turns on the engine.

 

Jyn shrugs her shoulders after she loads her bag and lantern in the speeder’s storage compartment. “I knew you’d find me, Cassian. Since being abandoned at fifteen, and being a former criminal, I am one heck of a walker, Captain Andor.” Jyn says with a dirty smirk.

 

Cassian scoffs when Jyn tells him that. He loves it. It makes him smile at her.

Not a lot of time passed since they left Jyn’s emergency childhood hideout. The skies were not cloudy at the moment. It was hot and sunny, and the winds blew over Jyn’s and Cassian’s heads as the speeder dashed through the green fields, acting like a natural fan in the hot weather. As Cassian looks over at Jyn, who was reclined back in the passenger seat, he smiles at the sight of her sleeping. Jyn looked flushed and exhausted. The strands of hair on both sides of her face blew with the wind, and it made her sleeping figure look more serene.

 

 _“She looks cute when she sleeps.”_ Cassian thought to himself as he shifts his focus back to the fields and navigated their way home.

 

Once Cassian arrives home and parks the speeder in the basement, he glances over at Jyn, who is still sleeping in the passenger seat. Being the gentleman he is, he gives the care and love to his girlfriend by carrying her in his arms and bringing her into the house, being careful not to run into the walls. Jyn is pretty short and light-weight for her age, as Cassian could feel on his arms. He carries Jyn to their bedroom and gently places her on their bed. Cassian takes the moment to observe Jyn’s sleeping figure. Her eyes were closed. Her chest & abdomen rose with her breaths. Her head was laying on its side on the pillow. Cassian loved the sight. It was another beautiful thing he loved about Jyn. She looked beautiful to him wherever she is. Cassian bends down to kiss her cheek before going to Galen’s closet.

 

Deciding to change his shirt, he switches to a dark blue shirt. But, before he could turn around and leave Jyn alone to nap, something in the closet caught his eye. His jacket and pants from the day they sent the Death Star plans was in there. And his blaster pistol was inside its holster.

 

It got Cassian thinking on the spot. He looks at his blaster pistol, then he glances over at the sleeping Jyn, then back at his pistol.

 

He then recalls the radio broadcast he had heard earlier in the speeder about the Death Star still active. Cassian sighs heavily, massaging the bridge of his nose. He was now irritated.

 

Cassian quietly leaves the room and goes to the kitchen to grab a drink. Upon taking a few sips, he just stood in the kitchen, thinking. Just thinking. He closes his eyes as his head tilts down. His mind was now clouded with thoughts and worries.

 

((()))

 

Cassian sits there at the kitchen dining table, watching Jyn chop some vegetables for their supper that evening. She was the one who did the kitchen work, as most women in the galaxy do. Cassian would help her, but not at the moment. He was bombarded with thoughts all day long, and it was aggravating him to his nerves. Cassian would go to the ends of the universe for Jyn. But…he just needed to know something from her.

 

Gathering the courage to talk to Jyn, Cassian finally stands up from his chair and slowly makes his way towards her, hearing every chop of the knife with every step he took. Jyn notices him, and looks up at him. Jyn smiles slightly and brushes aside one of the fringes on her head. “Captain.”

 

“Jyn….I….” Cassian starts, but struggles to. He tries not to make eye contact with Jyn since she does indeed frown the moment he has trouble starting off.

 

“I…..I need to talk to you. It’s important…” Cassian says softly. He notices Jyn laying the knife down on the countertop and placing her hands on her hips. She knew this wasn’t going to sound like a good conversation.

 

“Yes?” Jyn asks, looking at Cassian directly in the eye. She holds a blank expression on her face. She was getting nervous.

 

Cassian sighs in an attempt to relieve the pressure. “Look Jyn….I know a lot has happened lately, and it’s only been several days since we’ve met. Several days since we died and were given a second chance.”

 

Jyn nods to acknowledge his statement. “Hm. Go on.”

 

“I greatly value this strong, powerful love between us, even though we’ve only known each other for a few days….but this whole….farming life……isn’t there more out there than this?” Cassian asks.

 

At that moment, Jyn feels somewhat offended, but she tries to keep her nerves calm this time. “….What do you mean?”

 

Cassian shakes his head and sighs. “Jyn….it’s been a few days, and I heard on the radio that the Death Star is still not yet destroyed.”

 

Those words struck Jyn like a blaster bolt. Her heart sank to her chest. Her eyes began to shift downwards to the floor. She sent those plans. The Rebellion has that information. They know the Death Star’s weak spot. They did all that work, and it’s still not destroyed. This made Jyn frightened and worried.

 

“N-N-Not….d-destroyed?” Jyn’s voice begins to crack.

 

Cassian makes his way around the kitchen counter and places his hands on Jyn’s shoulders. “Jyn, listen to me. Hey, look at me.”

 

Jyn looks up at Cassian. She is about to cry, yet she also feels half angry in the inside for the lack of action by the Rebellion, the very military power that she and Cassian work for.

 

“I don’t mind this farmer’s life here. I will live it with you all the way through. But this war isn’t over yet. OUR mission….is not completed yet, believe it or not. If you want to live our second chance in a time of peace, we need to make sure that nothing stands in our way.” Cassian declares.

 

Jyn still has a look of fear and worry in her eyes. “What are you saying, Cassian?”

 

Cassian has waited all day long to ask her the question. “Shouldn’t we be back there, aiding the Rebellion once more? Shouldn’t we be there helping them end this conflict and fully restore peace to the galaxy?”

 

Jyn’s heart begins to race. “B-But Cassian…what about our life here?”

 

“Jyn, it’ll always be here. But shouldn’t we be taking care of a more serious matter?” Cassian asks.

 

Jyn shakes her head. “Cassian, it won’t be that easy!”

 

“I know, but-“ Cassian says, but Jyn cuts him off.

 

“We just died several days ago! We can’t just show up at Yavin 4 like nothing happened, Cassian! Even if we did survive Scarif, the Empire would have a bounty on us by now!” Jyn begins yelling.

 

“We still have a mission to complete, Jyn! Our mission wasn’t over yet!” Cassian yells back, but not as loudly as Jyn.

 

“Wasn’t it!? Hm!?” Jyn shoots him a glare.

 

There was a long pause between them. They stared into each other’s eyes with serious faces.

 

“We belong there, Jyn. The Rebellion is our home.” Cassian says in a more softer voice now.

 

“You want to talk about home!?” Jyn raises her voice, indicating that Cassian’s statement irritated her in a way.

 

Cassian shakes his head. “Jyn, if we don’t help now, their deaths would be in vain.”

 

And it struck Jyn. Those words that came from Cassian’s mouth angered her because she knew exactly what Cassian was referring to: Imwe, Malbus, Bodhi, K-2SO, and her parents. It got the former criminal’s blood flowing with anger and frustration. But she tries to hold in her anger. Instead, she speaks in an aggressive voice. Her eyes were wide, her face held a very serious & slightly angered expression, and she shook her head side to side slowly while eyeing Cassian directly in the eye. “CASSIAN….DON’T YOU DARE BRING THEM UP IN THIS. DON’T YOU DARE.”

 

Realizing he is treading on thin ice, Cassian tries to calm her down. “Jyn, I love you.”

 

Jyn scoffs and shakes her shoulders out of his hands, and turns around to walk away to their bedroom angrily. “I need to think about this…” She says in a voice that sounds frustrated.

 

“Jyn!” Cassian calls out to her, but she refuses to comply. He closes his eyes and rubs his forehead in frustration from the heated conversation with his Sergeant, his only Stardust, his partner. As much as he loves her, he did not want to risk their home being destroyed by the Death Star or the Empire.


	8. The Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (This chapter was very difficult for me to write, so I apologize if any part of it sounds a bit off to you. I think it’s a good chapter overall, and I love the heartfelt conversation. Enjoy.)

**Chapter 8: The Decision**

Cassian was clouded with frustration from the tense conversation with Jyn in the kitchen. He couldn’t stop debating between the Rebellion or his life in Lah’mu with Jyn, but he felt that they had no choice but to finish what they started. If they wanted to live their life without fear from the Empire, then they would need to contribute to the Rebellion again. However…that would require risks as well.

 

After what seemed like a half hour, Cassian decides to continue to speak with Jyn. “I knew this would’ve stirred her mind…” He mutters to himself as he made his way quietly to their bedroom.

 

Jyn stands right next to the bed with her forehead resting & hiding on one hand, and the other arm crossed underneath. Cassian knows that she is thinking about his proposal to go back to being Rebels, but he also knows that it was such a hard & intense moment for her. But he needs to know now. Taking small, slow, silent steps, Cassian approaches Jyn from behind and places one hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Jyn…”

 

Feeling his touch, in an instant, Jyn turns around and knocks his hand away with a hint of anger. She has the angry facial expression. “WHAT!?”

 

Cassian feels bad about it, but nevertheless he has to get an answer by the end of tonight. “Jyn, I know this is all too fast for you…but some day that space station will be destroying many lives if we don’t do anything about it soon.”

 

Jyn glares at him. “What made you change your mind? What caused you to want to go back to that?”

 

“I….I….Jyn, I made a vow to myself when I was six years old. I would never stop fighting for the Rebellion…until the Empire breathes its last breath.” Cassian informs her with an innocent face. He waits for her to respond despite the angry pair of emerald green eyes staring up at him.

 

“Really!? Don’t you see how badly I want to stay here!? You said it yourself, Cassian. If we completed that mission, I‘d be free to go.” Jyn says angrily.

 

“But our mission’s not complete yet….” Cassian says after finally shifting his head downwards so he looks at the ground in dismay.

 

Jyn shakes her head. “I sent those plans, that’s final!”

 

Jyn then begins to leave the bedroom by walking swiftly past Cassian. But Cassian quickly catches her by the wrist.

 

“Let go of me, Cassian!” Jyn yells, attempting to shake off his grasp on her wrist. But Cassian still won’t let go.

 

“Jyn! Listen to me for once, please!” Cassian begs the brunette young woman, finally making her calm her nerves and look up into his chocolate brown eyes. “We may have sent those plans….but it didn’t fully ensure the Death Star’s destruction right away. That’s what we sacrificed our lives for. I am very sure your father would’ve wanted his very own work to be destroyed, especially with the help of his own daughter.” Cassian tells Jyn. Jyn looks down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at him.

 

“Your father would be very proud.” Cassian repeats the last words he told Jyn at the beach in Scarif moments before their first deaths.

 

Jyn closes her eyes after angling her head down at the floor once more.

 

Cassian sighs after seeing lack of response from Jyn. “Jyn, please. Where is that reckless, aggressive, undisciplined Rebel who gave the galaxy a new hope?”

 

Jyn clenches a fist before shaking her head and turning away to walk out of the bedroom. “I….I don’t know Cassian. I..I-I just don’t know…” Jyn mumbles softly, crossing her arms as she escapes the room.

 

“Jyn!” Cassian calls out behind her. He tries to go after her, but then he realizes it is no use chasing after his beloved girlfriend. Realizing Jyn used to be a criminal, it made sense to him that she was most likely good at escaping from people in a jiffy. Cassian decides to let Jyn be and cool off for the next hour or so, and sits down on the bed.

 

Meanwhile, Jyn is storming off down the fields to the beach that was a couple of miles in front of their house. It is early evening, but there was still a little bit of sunset light left in the blue skies. Jyn stands there at the shoreline, watching the tides roar up and down to the sands. The winds blow against her face gently, acting as a fan to ‘cool down’ her angered mood. Jyn just stares out into the orange horizon with her arms crossed.

 

“I don’t know what to think…” Jyn says softly. “And here I am, living a second chance with a man I barely know, but trust. Yet, the Death Star is still out there….and I died just to let it sail free?”

 

She feels tears bursting from her eyes. Her lips begin to curl and tremble in conjunction with the cry. “Why was my life such a rough mess!?” Jyn yells out into the sea.

 

It’s true: Jyn did live a rough life. Her parents, Galen and Lyra, were working for the Empire, so that meant that she was an Imperial child. Orson Krennic killed her mother, and the Rebellion killed her father. She was abandoned by her secondary caretaker, Saw Gerrera, when she was fifteen years old, so she lived on her own for the past six years. Within those past six years, she’s expressed her extreme hatred for the Empire by stealing and forging information from it, getting into lots of trouble, becoming a prisoner in many prison camps, being dragged through streets as punishment, having blasters pointed at her every day, escaping so many places from Imperial troops. She even learned how to fight people swiftly and aggressively. Jyn is a criminal who turned into a Rebel, and she is a reckless twenty one year-old woman. She would take any extremely dangerous, reckless measure instead of safe methods just to get the job done. Though, Jyn wondered why Cassian still loved her despite her background, her past, and her personality.

 

Jyn shakes her head as the tears flow down her cheeks, and her eyes start to redden. “Why was I brought into this mess!? Why father!? WHY!?” She yells out into the sea. Hearing only more waves from the tides, Jyn sinks to the sand, sitting there and breaking down into more tears.

 

Was it her life that she wanted to continue living in peace on Lah’mu? Was it her love for Cassian? Was it Rogue One, who were her best friends all within that three-day span before their tragic deaths? Was it her parents? Who knows. It might be everything.

 

About ten minutes have passed, and Jyn was still crying tears, with her hand covering her face. But at that moment, she felt a very strong force inside her. It felt warm, yet so strong. She felt as if there was a presence right next to her. She felt it in her heart, and it was telling her something. Her kyber crystal necklace began glowing. She looked down and notices it. Something strong indeed was happening at the moment.

 

A blue glow appeared from behind her, and the reflections of the glow on the sand were visible to her when she looks up from her hand. With her eyes still full of tears and her cheeks still wet with tear trails, Jyn pushes herself up to her feet and turns around. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops when she sees who was there.

 

The blue-glowing spirits of her parents, Galen and Lyra, were standing right in front of her, with smiles on their faces. Jyn didn’t know what to say. She only wanted to cry more. She felt as if it was all real.

 

“M-MOTHER!? F-FATHER!?” Jyn mumbles loudly, covering her mouth with both hands.

 

“Jyn.” Galen says calmly.

 

Jyn then cries more tears.

 

“I’m so proud of you, Stardust. I knew you could do it.” Galen says to Jyn, referring to her sending of the Death Star plans.

 

“F-Father…so much has happened…” Jyn begins, but Galen smiles and cuts her off.

 

“Save your breath. Your mother and I are very proud of what you did. Your sacrifice in the end was worth it all.” Galen compliments his daughter. He couldn’t stop smiling at his grown-up girl.

 

“The Force was strong with you, my dear Jyn.” Lyra gracefully tells Jyn, who took some steps closer to them.

 

Jyn felt like she will choke on her next words. She is half-shocked and half-surprised to see that the spirits of her parents are right in front of her very eyes. It is like a unique, special, desperate gift from the Force. “Mother….father….is it true? The Death Star is still….?” Jyn tries to ask.

 

“Not yet, Jyn. But someone is bound to destroy it soon. I have a strong feeling that he will.” Galen answers with a nod.

 

“He?” Jyn is confused by the person he just mentioned. “Who, father? Who is he?”

 

“I’m not sure. But I can feel that he is a powerful man, and he will help restore peace to the galaxy.” Galen tells Jyn. Though, Jyn nods and looks down at the ground, unable to think about anything else.

 

“I….I really miss both of you…” Jyn whispers quietly, but her parents’ spirits could hear anything.

 

“And so do we, Stardust. Very much. You’ve grown.” Galen says as he watched his daughter form a small smile on her lips. “Jyn…I know you don’t want to face the conflict of the Rebellion and the Empire no more, and I know how badly you want to return to the peaceful life you used to have here.” He catches Jyn’s attention when she looks up at him.

 

“I know. What of it?” Jyn asks, curious.

 

“You deserve better. You were meant to be out there with the Rebellion. You’re a fighter, Jyn. Even one person can change the fate of the future. You did just that a few days ago. Why not do it again? You’re a great woman that you’ve grown into, Jyn, and your mother and I are proud. Don’t let fear hold you back. Let hope encourage you forward.” Galen says with a smile, tilting his head to the side to express confidence and assurance.

 

Jyn nods slightly, but still keeps her eyes gazing down at the sand. “It’s too much for me to take in.”

 

Galen looks over at Lyra, who raises her brows, for she has nothing to say but to agree with her daughter. Galen then turns his attention back to Jyn. “You know, Captain Andor loves you so much.”

 

This catches Jyn’s attention. She stares directly into her father’s eye.

 

Suddenly, a voice appears to her right. But…it sounds like a computerized voice, more like a robotic voice. And it sounds very familiar to Jyn’s ears.

 

“I am very sure it was obvious from the start!” The robotic voice said.

 

Jyn slowly turns to her right to see the spirits of K-2SO, Chirrut Imwe, Baze Malbus, Bodhi Rook, and Saw Gerrera standing there as well. Jyn swears that her heart sank to the bottom of the sand when she saw their spirits. Jyn’s eyes now begin to fill with tears again as she brings her hands to her mouth to cover it.

 

“K-2!? Imwe!? Baze! Bodhi! Saw! Oh..my….” Jyn exclaims happily as she let the tears trickle down her cheeks rapidly from joy. She felt so happy to see her best friends again.

 

“Missed us yet, sister?” Baze taunts Jyn, giving her a dirty smirk and scoffing.

 

“Wow. I didn’t know you look that young.” Chirrut comments about Jyn. This surprises Jyn, because Chirrut’s eyes did not look blind anymore in his spirit form. She guessed that his death caused the blindness to be removed, enabling him to see with full, clear sight as a spirit.

 

“You worry too much, Jyn.” Bodhi says playfully with a grin.

 

Jyn still feels the tears rolling down her cheeks when she saw the rest of her team, Rogue One, standing right in front of her as spirits one with the Force. “Oh my…it’s you! I can’t believe it!” Jyn exclaims so happily, she was almost on her knees. She smiles through her tears. Though, she felt embarrassed, it looked beautiful nonetheless.

 

“We….we were great out there. All of us. I really couldn’t have done it without you guys. Thank you.” Jyn says with a soft voice, since she felt like choking. It meant so much to her saying that to her team since she didn’t get a chance to say anything more before they separated near the Scarif jungles. “But, the Death Star is still out there. It should be destroyed soon enough. A-And I’m….” Jyn pauses for a moment, because she is now looking at her four deceased teammates in the eyes with a hint of guilt. “I’m so sorry…I am very very sorry.”

 

That moment, every one of the spirits frowns at her.

 

“Sorry for what?” Baze asks, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

 

“I mean…this….” Jyn holds up her glowing kyber crystal necklace, to which Lyra smiles happily. “….this gave me and Cassian a second chance. It resurrected us….but not you guys…because only we were touching it. Us being alive and living a second chance, and not you guys….I feel guilty. I honestly am! I wish you were here with us!” Jyn confesses with sorrow. She breaks into more tears.

 

“Jyn!” Chirrut gets Jyn’s attention. “You have nothing to be sorry for. We fought to the best of our ability, no matter the consequence, and no matter the cost. Dead or alive, Jyn, we accept our fates happily.”

 

“You and Cassian should be lucky that you are living the second chance. Our lives live within you two.” Bodhi assures her.

 

“Our living legacies.” K-2SO concludes.

 

Jyn, still feeling guilty, looks down at the sand. “But…”

 

“Jyn.” Saw Gererra then speaks. He no longer breathes into his oxygen mask, thankfully, for death has given him the benefit as a spirit. “You and Captain Andor just saved the Rebellion. You just saved the galaxy from a terrible future, a terrible threat. You just saved the dream, like I told you on Jedha. There are times where you must be patient, and let the events unfold to a brighter, positive future. Be positive about the outcome, Jyn. No need for worry, or guilt, or shame, or fear.”

 

Jyn nods and looks at her glowing crystal necklace.

 

“You have a greater purpose, Jyn. And you should fulfill it for the galaxy. For all of us. And for Cassian.” Galen says, putting an arm around Lyra.

 

Jyn looks up at Galen. “Oh. Father, about Cassian…”

 

“He’s a good man, Jyn. Despite everything he tried to do, he is a good man at heart, and I know he will protect you from anything. I trust him, just as you trust him. Trust goes both ways. You know that.” Galen tells his daughter with a slight smile.

 

Jyn thinks for a long moment before speaking. “Are you sure you want me to go along with it all?”

 

Galen nods with reassurance and confidence. “I am positive, Jyn. Please. You’re a Rebel, and a damn good one.” He chuckles at the end.

 

“We’re with you all the way, no matter what.” K-2SO confirms, raising one of his hands.

Jyn chuckles with a smile, chuckling out of happiness. She is glad that her parents and her friends supported her with the matter to continue to be part of the Rebellion.

 

Unbeknownst to Jyn, the entire time she stood at the shoreline speaking with their friends, Cassian was watching the conversation from about thirty feet away behind her. Seeing his comrades and his lover speaking to her parents made him tear up a bit, and it made him feel so happy that he wanted to jump up and scream his lungs out into the ocean. Cassian overheard everything in Jyn’s conversation with their deceased teammates, and he wanted to finally enter the scene.

 

“Me too.” Cassian cuts in, approaching Jyn from behind with a smile. Jyn turns around to face him with a surprised face, and with a gasp.

 

“Cassian…” Jyn says softly before looking over at her father, Galen.

 

“Captain! Why, how good it is to see you again.” K-2SO waves a hand to him excitedly.

 

Cassian scoffs and smiles while waving back. “Never thought death could have us meet again, buddy.”

 

Jyn looks at Galen. She then approaches him. “Father, in case you didn’t know, Cassian and I…we…”

 

Galen and Lyra both nod. “Yes, Jyn, we know. We want the best for you. You deserve the best, my Stardust.”

 

Galen then looks at Cassian. “You have our blessing.” Galen makes the official confirmation, while smiling at Lyra who was smiling back at him, feeling happy that their daughter was now with a man that they trust is the right one for her.

 

“Thank you, Erso.” Cassian thanks him.

 

“You protect her. Take care of her for us. She’s the most precious thing in the galaxy.” Galen orders Cassian with a serious stare.

 

Cassian nods and promises him. “I will protect her with my life.” Cassian wraps an arm around Jyn. She grins up at him and wraps an arm around his waist. “Stardust is the key to my heart.”

 

Lyra smiles happily at the two of them after watching them wrap their arms around each other.

 

Jyn whispers in Cassian’s ear. “I hope Rogue One approves of it…”

 

“Hey! We heard that!” K-2SO blurts out, pointing at her. Jyn & Cassian laugh in response.

 

“Rogue One lives on.” Bodhi declares.

 

Jyn then looks at all of them with concern. “B-But…when will we see you again!?”

 

“We’re with you everywhere you go, darling. The Force is strong with both of you. We’ll be there if you have anything to talk about. We’re all here for you, sweetie.” Lyra assures her daughter one last time.

 

Jyn smiles and looks up at Cassian. They smile into each other’s eyes as the waves roar peacefully to the shoreline. The sunset is almost fading into night, and the temperatures begin to turn chilly. The two remaining living members of Rogue One embrace each other for a long five minutes. Then, Cassian notices from the corner of his eye all but one spirit stayed behind.

 

“You can kiss him, you know.” K-2SO informs Jyn. Jyn looks at him with a sarcastic smile. “The Captain said so.”

 

“Yeah, right…” Cassian mutters under his breath quietly as he and Jyn both chuckle from K-2SO’s obvious statement. “So, have you made up your mind?” Cassian then asks Jyn, going back to a serious face now.

 

Jyn places her hand’s on Cassian’s shoulders and looks up into his brown calming eyes with confidence. “Cassian, I know it will not be easy to go back into it all of a sudden, but I am willing to. Cassian…as long as we’re together, I am happy. If you fight, I fight. Wherever you go, I go. I will follow you to the ends of the galaxy, Cassian.”

 

Cassian smiles, because her words touches him. “You’re everything to me. I will never leave your side. I love you so much, Stardust. You have my word on that. We made ten men feel like a hundred. But two Rebels…” Cassian points at both himself and Jyn. “…makes it feel even better.”

 

Jyn smiles and kisses him on his lips. “Then we leave tomorrow!” Jyn happily declares while reaching up to wrap both of her arms around his neck since she was so much shorter than him.

 

Seeing the two Rebels embrace each other, K-2SO jerks back in response. “Ugh. Humans…”

 

Jyn immediately looks at K-2SO and gives him a playful glare. “Oh, get out then, K-2!”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” K-2SO replies before fading away back into the afterlife.

 

“So, time to be rebellious again.” Cassian gives Jyn a dirty smirk.

 

“Yeah.” Jyn answers, smirking back.

 

Cassian strokes one of Jyn’s fringes on the side of her face. “Reckless. Aggressive. Undisciplined.”

 

Jyn gives him a dirtier smirk. “Sounds just like me.”

 

“I like that.” Cassian tells Jyn.

 

“Mmmmmm.” Jyn responds in a seductive tone.

 

“I’m surprised you love me.” Cassian says.

 

“Even reckless women like me have feelings too, Cassian.” Jyn says before placing a kiss on his cheek.

 

Cassian loved that Jyn is the way she is: reckless, aggressive, undisciplined. She was a strong young woman both inside and outside. Yet, she still had a caring heart for him. He loved that she was on his side no matter what. Even though she was a former criminal and did many terrible things in the past, he knew it all helped her become the woman he is in love with now. It was that moment that Cassian knew his life was already complete; the void in his heart filled. The young woman, who was six years younger than him, was truly the best thing that has ever happened to him, and he wanted to spend an eternity with her.


	9. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (I would like to thank you for supporting my RebelCaptain fanfiction story. I was inspired to write this story because the ending scene of Jyn and Cassian in Rogue One broke my heart so much more than any movie I’ve seen. They weren’t going to include an alternate ending option in the final disc release. AND…a lot of Star Wars fans out there really do not disapprove of their unique relationship and instead criticize them saying stuff like “It’s not a romance. It wasn’t necessary. I’m glad they died.” You know, it really, really hurts me to see that negative criticism towards such inspiring characters that I had a 2-hour emotional bond & connection with. As a result, just like other RebelCaptain story writers out there, I created this story, Rogue One: Resurrection, as a haven for those RebelCaptain shippers alike who love these characters and are not ashamed to fantasize about them. I am planning to keep this story in progress for as long as I can, meaning lots and lots and lots of chapters. This RebelCaptain fantasy is my life fanfiction story. It may even be years before I declare this story as complete. Again, I would like to thank you for following this story along, and I hope more readers favorite & follow along as time goes by. My goal at the least is 50 kudos. I created Rogue One: Resurrection because RebelCaptain is what I love doing, and Jyn & Cassian deserve a second chance; they are the power house of Rogue One. They are the new power couple of Star Wars. It’s my secret little passion. Thank you very much. Enjoy the chapter.)

**Chapter 9: Homecoming**

It was the next morning, and the two Rebels were already up from their sleep, preparing for the jump to hyperspace. There was lots of packing and lots of loading. Fortunately, Galen’s 2-seater speeder had enough storage space and had a mountable hard top roof for traversing more comfortably at greater speeds, and it made the speeder capable at commuting in space. Jyn placed her bags in the storage compartment and looked over at Cassian, who was rolling up some of Galen’s clothes to store in his bags.

 

“You sure your father’s speeder can get us there? It doesn’t look like the travelling type.” Cassian asks her curiously, making a frown because he is unsure about it.

 

“Yeah. It has its own hyperdrive, so we’ll be able to make it to Yavin 4.” Jyn answers him, while reaching her holster to take her A180 blaster pistol out and hold it up. She examines her A180 pistol by holding it with both hands and stroking the barrel with her left fingers. “So, what’s the game plan?” She asks.

 

Cassian finishes packing his cargo and loads them into the storage compartment before turning to Jyn with a quick raise of a brow. “Yes…about that….we’ll have to be incognito.”

 

Jyn squints at him, unsure of it. “Meaning?”

 

Cassian decides to lean towards her and speak in a softer voice. “We need to stay off the grid for a little while. At least during our time there today. I don’t want anyone to recognize us today. We just died. Imagine how they’d react to our sudden appearance.”

 

Though, Cassian explained it, Jyn was still unsure. After a small pause, she agrees. “Okay then.”

 

“You have to trust me on this, Jyn. I need to survey the base, see what the holdup from the Death Star’s destruction is.” Cassian informs her, placing a hand on her arm.

 

Jyn nods. “Of course I trust you, Cassian. You know I do.”

Cassian smiles as he looks down at Jyn’s A180 pistol, and looks back up at her green eyes. He loves his Sergeant so much, whether she was dangerous or not. Most of the time, she was dangerous. And Cassian thought of it as his perfect Jyn. Cassian then hops into the passenger seat because Jyn told him earlier that she would drive since he didn’t know there was a hyperdrive in Galen’s speeder.

 

Holstering her A180 blaster pistol, Jyn turns around to take one good look at the Erso house. She made sure every entrance into it was locked, and she was very sure that they didn’t forget anything, until the SE-2 farming droid approached her. Jyn bends down and places a hand on it.

 

“Hey. You keep watch on the flat, yeah?” Jyn orders her droid, to which it nods in response and makes several beeping noises. “This property is most likely off the grid from the Empire, so let’s keep it that way.”

 

SE-2 makes a few more beep noises before holding out one of its mechanical arms. It holds a large silver brass frame. The frame contains a family portrait of Galen, Lyra, and Jyn when she was seven years old. Jyn smiles as she accepts the family portrait from her farming droid. “Thanks, SE-2.” Jyn thanks it and pats its head before standing up to hop into the pilot’s seat. Cassian watches her store her family portrait into the storage compartment gently, and it makes him smile. He knows, from what he has seen from Jyn and her father several days ago, that she is very close to her parents, and that is a great thing. _“If she is very close to her family, then she is very close with me.”_ Cassian thought to himself.

 

“Well, we’re ready for takeoff. Shall we?” Jyn asks, looking at Cassian with her emerald green eyes.

 

Cassian nods. “Are you with me?”

 

Hearing that question from him before, when they sat together in his U-Wing, Jyn slowly smiles. “All the way.”

 

Cassian then smiles. He takes Jyn’s hand and intertwines his hand with hers. Keeping his chocolate brown eyes locked with Jyn’s emerald green eyes, he slowly brings up their hands, with Jyn’s hand on top, and he places a gentle kiss on her hand. This makes Jyn’s heart sink, and she smiles in return.

 

“Setting coordinates for Yavin 4. Rebel base.” Jyn announces as she activates the speeder’s hyperdrive. The console makes a beeping noise, confirming its activation and set coordinates for Yavin 4. Jyn turns on the engine, and the speeder slowly begins to vertically ascend from the ground. “Rogue One, launch.” Jyn says as she pushes the lever so that the speeder goes at full speed into hyperdrive. It zooms off towards the ocean in front of the Erso home and disappears in the blink of an eye into hyperspace, leaving Jyn’s home planet Lah’mu.

 

((()))

 

_15 minutes later…_

**_“Homecoming”_ **

**_1625 hours_ **

**_Rogue One_ **

**_Sgt. Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso_ **

**_Jungles, Yavin 4_ **

 

 

On a planet full of jungles and tall, green trees, comes the speeder that Jyn & Cassian were travelling in. Jyn tries her best to safely land the speeder from its swift speed from hyperspace.

 

“Watch out!” Cassian points at a tree in front of them, to which Jyn swerves around. They eventually bring the speeder to a halt safely and quietly. The first thing they do is look around and observe their surroundings: tall green trees surrounded them like shadows. It was almost dark under the vast cover of the jungle, but there was some sunlight that shone through the trees. The two Rebels exit the speeder and look at each other. “We’re here…but where’s the base?” Jyn asks. Because she’s only been recruited into the Rebellion for three days, she knows that Cassian knew the area better than she did.

 

“Do you hear that?” Cassian asks. Jyn frowns before focusing her hearing to the sky. The sounds of aircraft engines were roaring in the skies. “That’s the hangar. We’re close. Maybe one mile out. We’ll have to go on foot from here. Leave the speeder here.”

 

Jyn nods and reaches in the storage compartment to grab two brown hats, one of which she tossed to Cassian. “This’ll help with our cover.”

 

After putting on his hat, and making the appearance of his different Rebel uniform neat, he gestures over to Jyn. “Stick close to me. Follow my lead. Speak only if spoken to, and keep a low profile. We just died, so I don’t want anyone surprised to our presence until the time is right.” Cassian warns her.

 

“Yes, sir.” Jyn says loudly with a dirty smirk before putting on her brown hat and walking along the jungle beside her Captain.

 

After a fifteen-minute walk through the jungle of trees, Jyn & Cassian finally arrive at the base, where the front hangar serves as the main entrance of the Rebel installation on Yavin 4. With their different Rebel uniforms and brown caps, they were almost unrecognizable to any infantry present in the base. They had to use the low profile in order to get around the base undetected, and survey the premises. Of course, the Rebellion is their friend, but they were just there for a ‘recon’ of their own, and it would look suspicious to any Rebel there if they got caught.

 

“Follow my lead.” Cassian whispers quietly to Jyn as he puts his hands in his pockets and continues walking into the hangar.

 

As they walk into the hangar, they observe their surroundings. Service droids accompany Rebel pilots to perform maintenance on their aircraft, X-Wings and Y-Wings underwent minor repairs, Rebel pilots dressed in orange uniforms chattered in different groups, Rebel patrols walked along the walls of the hangar with assault blasters, and a couple of X-Wing engines were roaring loudly inside the hangar for thrust testing.

 

Seeing that nothing was out of the ordinary so far, Cassian leans in to Jyn to whisper to her. “There’s nothing unusual here.”

 

Jyn nods as she continues to look around. “Everything here looks the same before we departed for Scarif that day. Maybe we should go into the command center.”

 

But something caught Jyn’s eye. From the corner of her eye, Rebel pilots began to form up into groups, and they were indeed proceeding to walk towards the command center. Pilots then jog; it seems suspicious to both Jyn and Cassian, as they wonder what the sudden hurry is.

 

“Bingo.” Jyn whispers after looking up at Cassian.

 

“It looks like they’re headed to the briefing room. Let’s go.” Cassian replies quietly before gesturing his head in the Rebel pilots’ direction. They are careful not to trail behind the group of pilots too closely, and instead kept their distance from them. “Wait…they’re all pilots. What about the infantries?” Cassian asks, with a face of confusion forming on his face.

 

Jyn shrugs her shoulders, unsure. “Good question.” She replies while following Cassian and turning to another hallway.

 

After a few minutes of riding an elevator together alone up to the upper floors of the base, Jyn and Cassian finally arrived in the briefing room where all of the Rebel pilots were present. They were seated in a semi-circle, and there was an elderly man in the front of the room explaining something. It appeared that Jyn and Cassian arrived in the middle of the sudden briefing, and so they decided to stand in the back of the group to have a better view of the briefing and to better maintain their low profile.

 

However, Jyn’s eyes widen when she notices on the projection screen at the front of the briefing room something very, very familiar…

 

“Cassian!” Jyn whispers loudly to Cassian, nudging him with her elbow.

 

“What, Jyn?” Cassian asks, looking down at her.

 

“Look!” Jyn exclaims quietly as she gestures her head towards the projection screen.

 

What the two Rogue One members saw on the projection screen sparked big smiles on their faces.

 

((()))

 

A three-dimensional model of the Death Star was shown on the screen, and it displayed the Death Star’s core: the critical weak spot. The very flaw that Jyn’s father, Galen Erso, implemented secretly for the Rebellion to exploit. Jyn and Cassian were so happy to see that her father’s plan did work after all.

 

“It’s the plans that we sent! It’s finally being shown to the Rebellion!” Jyn exclaims happily & quietly after smiling up at Cassian.

 

Cassian couldn’t believe it either. His smile stuck to his face like adhesive tape. He couldn’t stop smiling down at the pair of emerald green eyes looking up at him with a beautiful smile. “Someone up there did listen to us after all.” Cassian tells Jyn, referring to what he asked Jyn during their last moments at the Scarif beach that day.

 

The two Rebels nod to each other before turning their attention back to the briefing.

 

“It’s a small thermal exhaust port right below the main port.” The elderly man informs to all the Rebel pilots. “The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station. Proton torpedoes are required for this mission, as they are efficient enough to use in the trench.”

 

 _“Your weak spot will save us, father. You did it.”_ Jyn says to herself with a slight smile as she sees the three-dimensional diagram of the Death Star plans show a sample of a proton torpedo descending down the main shaft and damage the central weak point.

 

“B-But that’s impossible, even for a computer!” One of the Rebel pilots exclaims.

 

Suddenly, a young man sitting next to him blurts something out of nowhere. This particular man caught Jyn and Cassian’s attentions, as he was dressed differently from the other pilots. He wore tan desert robes.

 

“It’s not impossible! I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 speeder back home. They’re not much bigger than two meters.” The unfamiliar young man comments.

 

Jyn and Cassian look at each other and give each other frowns, for they are unsure who the young man is.

 

“Then man your ships. May the Force be with you!” The elderly man says before dismissing all the pilots. The pilots begin to chatter and exit the briefing room.

 

“Well, one of these men is going to end up destroying the Death Star tonight. I wonder who it will be. My father mentioned it…” Jyn whispers to Cassian as they both step aside to let all the Pilots pass by them through the doors.

 

Cassian shakes his head. “The more important question is…will the Death Star actually be destroyed?” He asks Jyn.

 

“Right…” Jyn says with uncertainty. “That man…who is he? Does he look familiar to you?” Jyn asks Cassian, referring to the young man in the tan desert robes.

 

Cassian shakes his head, unsure. “I don’t know. And I’ve never seen them either.” He points out a man with brunette hair wearing a white long-sleeve shirt, black pants, and a black vest. Accompanying him is a tall, brown-haired Wookie with a crossbow blaster. The three mysterious, unfamiliar people exit the briefing room last.

 

“They weren’t here before we left for Scarif. New recruits?” Jyn asks, looking up at Cassian for an answer.

 

“Maybe…” Cassian says. “We’ll find out later. Look, it’s Princess Leia.”

 

Jyn looks to the front of the briefing room to see Princess Leia and Mon Mothma speaking to each other. She and Cassian both know who Princess Leia is. She is one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance; though, they’ve never seen her on the field, of course, since she mostly operates from the commanding centers. Neither of them ever came into close contact with Princess Leia though.

On the far left side of the room was General Draven, who was shuffling through some papers. Upon seeing the sight of Draven, this has Jyn glaring at him from the other side of the briefing room. Seeing Draven makes her very angry that moment. Jyn’s heart rate increases, anger pumps through her veins every second, and she clenches her fists hard. She feels like pulling her A180 blaster pistol out and shooting him. Jyn’s breathing becomes more rapid and louder, catching Cassian’s attention. He widens his eyes to her sudden rigorous breathing.

 

“Jyn? What’s wrong!? Quiet down.” Cassian warns Jyn quietly.

 

Suddenly, Cassian notices at the corner of his eye that Princess Leia and Mon Mothma notice he & Jyn, though they were unrecognizable to their leaders and were seen as suspicious.

 

“Damn…” Cassian mutters under his breath silently so only Jyn hears, who then turns her attention to the two female leaders.

 

“Hey!” Mon Mothma calls out to them.

 

Assuming that their cover is blown, Cassian nudges Jyn with an elbow, signaling them to escape the premises. “Come on, let’s go…” Cassian quietly orders Jyn, and the two turn around and begin exiting the briefing room by walking swiftly.

 

“Hey! Guards!” Mon Mothma yells out, ordering a few Rebel guards to apprehend Jyn and Cassian.

 

Making their way to the stairs, Cassian grabs Jyn’s arm. “Come on! We’ve got to get out of here!”  Cassian pants, pulling Jyn with him down the spiral of stairs. The Rebel guards then appear at the floor above them, so they were not far from catching up to the two Rogue One members.

 

“Halt!” One of the Rebel troops orders. Jyn and Cassian ignore him and continue to escape towards the hangar.

 

As they arrived at the hangar, they were close to escaping when they heard blasters being raised at them from behind. Aside from hearing blasters cocking, they notice in front of them that all the X-Wings and Y-Wings have sortied into hyperspace towards the Death Star already.

 

“Stop right there!” A strong, loud, superior female voice orders them. Her voice fills the atmosphere of the main hangar. Mon Mothma had caught them.

 

Both panting heavily, Jyn and Cassian look at each other. Jyn’s face held concern. But, Cassian gives her a single wink of an eye, and he raises his hands up to indicate surrender. Jyn sighs in defeat and does the same.

 

“Identify yourselves!” Mon Mothma orders them in a strict voice.

 

There is a very long pause before Cassian decides to answer her. “Have you ever seen a ghost before, Mothma?”

 

Mon Mothma, confused by the question, frowns at him. “Excuse me?”

 

“Do you believe in resurrection?” Cassian asks out loud for every Rebel in the hangar to hear. Still, Mon Mothma remains silent due to her confusion. “Because…..we just died…..under your command.”

 

Jyn and Cassian turn around slowly to reveal themselves. Every single Rebel in the hangar, including Mon Mothma, gasps in response. They mutter to each other, and most of the guards lower their blasters. Mon Mothma is in shock, and she did not know what to say at the moment. All she could do is stare with a dropped jaw and widened eyes of awe.

 

“We just rose from the ashes.” Jyn says.

 

It took a very long minute before an excited, and impressed, smile forms on Mothma’s face.

 

((()))

 

“This is unbelievable! Truly amazing! H-How!?” Mon Mothma asks with awe, as she sits there inside the command room with Jyn and Cassian, and with General Draven standing to the side observing their conversation.

 

“Well…” Cassian starts off while smiling at Jyn, who only gave a very small smile. “We died. It should’ve been confirmed by now. But then something happened. It was….” Cassian looks over at Jyn. “Jyn, could you show her?”

 

Without saying a word, Jyn pulls out her mother’s kyber crystal necklace and holds it up. It wasn’t glowing at the moment, but it forced a curious look on Mothma’s face.

 

“That kyber crystal happened to save us from the Death Star’s catastrophe, and it allowed the Force to grant us a….” Cassian is about to finish his sentence when Jyn decides to finish for him.

 

“….second chance.” Jyn finishes for him before putting her kyber crystal necklace back underneath her brown jacket.

 

“We happened to be touching the crystal when….” Cassian tries to finish his sentence. He is reluctant to, as he wanted that moment on Scarif to be a private memory to him and Jyn only. “….when Jyn and I were….” Cassian pauses again.”…..having our last moments.” He finally finishes, causing Jyn to look at him.

 

Mon Mothma is almost at the loss for words. She still couldn’t believe the amazing ability that a kyber crystal could contain, because no one ever knew it. “Wow….I must say, it must have been such a joyous moment for that to happen for both of you.” She compliments with a smile. “However, I am deeply sorry for the loss of the fellow Rebels that fought alongside you on Scarif, and your….four close friends.” Mon Mothma tells them. This causes a very long moment of silence between the three Rebels. “But, I must say that I am very proud of your efforts of sending the Death Star plans to our Rebellion. I am truly amazed by your great sacrifice and resurrection. It truly is one of the greatest miracles to happen!”

 

Jyn and Cassian nod to acknowledge Mothma’s kind words.

 

“Thank you.” Cassian says. “It was an honor completing that mission for you…”

 

Mon Mothma widens her eyes and shakes her head. “No, no! We thank you two. It was the greatest honor to have you two send important documents, and miraculously revived from an inevitable, tragic end. Truly, truly honorable. We welcome both of you back, should you choose to continue your service to the Rebel Alliance.” She says with a smile after crossing her legs in her seat and interlocking her fingers on the hologram table.

 

“Well, thank you, Mothma. And Jyn & I are willing to continue serving for the Rebellion. It is our personal duty.” Cassian says with a smile to Jyn. However, he notices that Jyn isn’t smiling. She has a blank emotionless face. This was beginning to worry him.

 

“Thank you, Captain Andor. I hope that another tragedy like Scarif doesn’t fall upon you both again in the future. May the Force be with you.” Mon Mothma declares with a smile. “Thanks to both of you and your team, we were able to examine the plans of the Death Star, and we found its weakness that Galen Erso built into its core. We have an entire squadron of pilots deployed to the Death Star space station as we speak, and they are about to destroy it very soon. We’re one step closer to peace and victory.”

 

“That’s great news!” Cassian politely thanks Mothma.

 

Jyn felt so very angry deep inside her soul. She was staring up at General Draven, and Cassian’s smile faded as he watches her. He thinks what she’s about to do. He could see the anger in his Sergeant’s eyes and her fists. “Jyn?” Cassian says with worry. This makes Mon Mothma turn her attention to Jyn.

 

In the blink of an eye, Jyn stands up from her chair and pulls out her A180 blaster pistol, and she points it at General Draven, who jerks back in surprise and drops the papers he held. This action causes Cassian and Mon Mothma to react quickly by getting up from their seats and attempting to apprehend Jyn.

 

“J-Jyn, what are you doing!?” Cassian yells out.

 

“I MAY BE ALIVE AGAIN, BUT I STILL HAVE NOT FORGIVEN YOU, YOU BASTARD!” Jyn yells with such fury at Draven. She is so angry that she had her finger ready on the trigger, and it is slightly being pressured on.

 

“What are you talking about, Erso!?” Draven exclaims with a sour face, and he takes a step back.

 

“Jyn!” Cassian yells at her, trying to get her attention.

 

Jyn shakes her head while keeping her A180 pistol pointed at Draven’s face. “YOU WERE THE ONE WHO ORDERED THE BOMBING ATTACKS ON MY FATHER! YOU HAD CASSIAN DECIEVE ME! MY FATHER DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU’RE A MONSTER!” The reckless, aggressive, undisciplined female Rebel yells angrily at the top of her lungs. Tears of anger begin to burst from her eyes.

 

“Erso, it was a judgement call! We had to! We couldn’t take a chance in the Death Star’s full completion! Trillions of innocent lives were at stake!” General Draven yells back at Jyn, trying to speak truth to her. But it’s no use for the reckless twenty one year-old woman.

 

“JUDGEMENT CALL!? LIKE HELL, IT WAS A JUDGEMENT CALL! WHO KNEW!? MY FATHER WOULD’VE DEFECTED AT THE LAST MINUTE IF HE WANTED TO! HOW DARE YOU!” Jyn screams, gripping her pistol very tightly. Her breaths became more tense and rapid.

 

“Sergeant Erso!” Mon Mothma exclaims as two Rebel guards raise their A280 assault blasters at Jyn.

 

“JYN! THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING!” Cassian yells louder so that the words could actually reach Jyn’s angered brain. Jyn remains quiet; only her tense breaths sounded from her nose and mouth. “Put your blaster down, Jyn!” Cassian orders less loudly.

 

“You expect me to let this man walk after what he caused that night!?” Jyn says while keeping her eyes on Draven and her blaster raised at his chest.

 

“Jyn, that was history! Killing Draven won’t bring your father back. He and your mother wouldn’t want you doing this.” Cassian tells Jyn, raising a hand out to her.

 

Jyn shakes her head without saying a word. She felt like she was returning to her old self, where she was a reckless, aggressive, mischievous criminal before she joined the Rebellion.

 

“I’m still your superior, Jyn. Lower your weapon. That’s an order.” Cassian commands Jyn with a serious tone.

 

And it is true. Cassian is indeed Jyn’s superior because he is a higher rank than her. He is a Captain, and she is a Sergeant, so Jyn had no choice but to obey him. Jyn looks over at Cassian, then at Mon Mothma, then back at Draven before lowering her pistol slowly, much to everyone’s relief.

 

Jyn then speaks in a soft voice. Still, she has an angry face. “The reason why you’re not dead….is because I’m still joined in this cause.” Jyn says in a harsh tone before returning her A180 pistol back into her holster and turning away, storming angrily out of the command center.

 

“Jyn…” Cassian mutters quietly under his breath as the two Rebel guards lower their A280 assault blasters. Then, he looks over at Mon Mothma, who frowns at him. “Look, I’m sorry about her.”

 

“It’s alright. I’ve read her file, and I’m sure you have too. We both know how reckless she can be.” Mon Mothma assures him.

 

Cassian sighs before leaving the command center to catch up to Jyn. “Can’t agree with you more.”


	10. The Victory They Died For

**Chapter 10: The Victory They Died For**

After the heated argument that involved a General being held at gunpoint by a female of lower rank inside the command room, Cassian follows Jyn, where she doesn’t stop walking until they were at the end of the hallway. Cassian places his hands on his hips as he watches Jyn calming herself down; he wonders what was going through her mind then, and at the current moment.

 

“What were you thinking, hm!?” Cassian exclaims, almost shouting. “Do you want to get us killed!?”

 

“Sorry. I just…still can’t get over his death.” Jyn finally comes with an answer for him. She paces back and forth in front of Cassian, trying her best to chill her mood.

 

“Just don’t do that again, okay?” Cassian asks more calmly this time. He eyes her, hard. “Understand?”

 

Jyn nods. “Yes, CAPTAIN.”

 

Cassian smirks and pats Jyn’s shoulder before walking past her towards the stairs. “Good girl.”

 

Jyn pauses for a moment. She suddenly remembers something about the young man that they saw in the briefing room earlier. After thinking it over, Jyn turns around to catch up to Cassian at the stairs. “Cassian!” She gets his attention.

 

“What is it?” Cassian gives Jyn a curious look.

 

“That man in the desert robes at the briefing room…didn’t we see him in a vision?” Jyn asks, looking up at her Captain and scanning every bit of his eyes for a reply.

 

“Vision?.....Wait a minute…” Cassian looks down at the floor, trying to clear his mind and recall the event.

 

“The vision. Right before we walked out that gold door and continued our lives. That man was in the vision, in the exact place, in the exact situation.” Jyn informs.

 

After realizing what Jyn is trying to imply, Cassian widens his eyes and looks into Jyn’s eyes with slight shock. “I-Is….is he the one who will-“ He starts to ask.

 

“Destroy the Death Star?” Jyn finishes for him. There is a long pause between them before Jyn continues the conversation. “I think so. I have the feeling, just as my father has.”

 

Suddenly, a distressed voice announces through the P.A. speakers.

 

“The Death Star will be in targeting range in approximately one hour. I repeat, the Death Star will be in targeting range in approximately one hour.” The announcer informs the entire base.

 

At that very moment, Jyn & Cassian both look at each other with worried eyes and faces filled with fear. Mon Mothma never mentioned anything about the Death Star on the verge to destroy the Rebel base on Yavin 4. They felt their hearts drop with a bang. They felt as if time had frozen the moment those words from the P.A. speakers lingered through the air and haunted their minds. Realizing that the Death Star had found them yet again, Jyn immediately wraps her arms around Cassian, exerting much force around his torso. Feeling his heart sink in response, Cassian reciprocates the hug by wrapping his arms around her and holding her gently. Since Jyn is a lot shorter than Cassian, to further deepen the hug, Cassian rests his cheek on her head, and Jyn presses her head into Cassian’s chest, feeling the warmth of his chest and hearing his smooth steady heartbeats.

 

They stay embraced like that at the stairwells for a very long minute.

 

Jyn eventually breaks the silence after feeling tears bursting from her eyes; the tears trickle down her cheeks slowly. “Did my father really do it….to protect me?” Jyn mumbles since she kept her face pressed into Cassian’s warm chest. Cassian rubs her head gently in the hug to show some affection to accompany his answer.

 

“Of course, Jyn.” Cassian whispers into her ear.

 

Hearing his reply, and while still keeping her head pressed into his chest, Jyn reaches for her kyber crystal necklace and holds it firmly in her hand, while her other arm remains wrapped around Cassian. The two Rebels feel the strong emotional bond between them at that moment.

 

“We’re one with the Force, the Force is with us…” Jyn whispers quietly, but her voice sounds trembled, like as if she is about to cry from fear that the Rebel squadron won’t be successful in destroying the Death Star. Cassian closes his eyes, and they remained gently embraced in each other’s arms.

 

Were they going to face the face of death again? Will the Rebel squadron be able to destroy their biggest fear in time?

 

((()))

 

**_“The Victory They Died For”_ **

**_2240 hours_ **

**_Rebel Alliance_ **

**_?????_ **

**_The Death Star trenches, Outer Space_ **

“Watch out, watch out! Bogey on your six! Get out of there, Red 2!” Wedge Antilles of the Red Squadron warns out loud through the comms in his X-Wing aircraft fighter.

 

“The trench is too narrow! I can’t-“ The Rebel pilot responds in great distress before being shot down by the laser bolts of an Imperial TIE Bomber trailing behind them.

 

The duo of Rebel pilots, one of which is Wedge, continue to stay in formation, maneuvering swiftly with their quick reflexes through green blaster bolts from Imperial anti-aircraft turrets stationed along the Death Star’s trench. The TIE Bomber kept trailing behind them, and it won’t be long until the Imperial pilot gets the opportunity to shoot down another Rebel.

 

“We’re only ten miles out! Keep your bearing!” Wedge orders the other pilot while keeping watch on his tracking computer screen.

 

The Imperial TIE pilot decides to attempt to attack the accompanying Rebel pilot, targeting his X-Wing and releasing the green laser bolts from the TIE Bomber’s blaster canons.

 

Luckily, the Rebel pilot is able to roll his X-Wing repeatedly and dodge the attacks.

 

“That was close! We can’t shake him off our tail, Wedge! We’re basically sandwiched!” The Rebel pilot yells out in frustration.

 

Wedge shakes his head. “It’s now or never. The Death Star is closing in on Yavin! We don’t have time!”

 

“Damn it!” The Rebel pilot curses out loud, feeling that the TIE pilot is going to shoot him down any second.

 

Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, red laser bolts came raining down from above them. Wedge and the other pilot are surprised, as they look up to see another Rebel pilot rescue them from an inevitable attack. He smiles and takes the lead in the three-man formation down the trench.

 

“I thought you weren’t ever going to show up, Red Five!” Wedge comments, chuckling slightly.

 

“I thought I could use some real target practice this time!” The mysterious Rebel pilot, Red Five, responds with a laugh. “Hey, both of you retreat to the fleet. I’ve got this.”

 

Wedge frowns. “What!? Are you crazy? There’s hundreds of TIEs here!”

 

“It’s okay. Trust me.” Red Five says with much confidence.

 

Wedge hesitates before signaling the third Rebel pilot to break formation and retreat out of the trench. “May the Force be with you, Red Five.”

 

Flying solo in the Death Star’s trench, Red Five watches his tracking computer that shows a simulated projection of the trench and the estimated distance remaining to the exhaust port that led to the Death Star’s core: the weakness that Galen Erso secretly built in for ease of destruction. Red Five breathes heavily, for he is nervous because he only has two proton torpedoes left loaded in his X-Wing. He begins to sweat from nervousness and anxiety.

 

And another factor of his nervousness occurs: a TIE bomber with two TIE Interceptors descends from above the trench and trails closely behind Red Five’s X-Wing. They were prepared to take him down.

 

Suddenly, a surprising voice spoke into the Rebel pilot’s ears out of nowhere. Realizing who it is, Red Five smiles.

 

“Use the Force, Luke.” The voice advises him.

 

Thinking about what he has learned and what he has witnessed over the past few days, he agrees with the voice. Red Five decides to deactivate his tracking screen, and instead chooses to fly down the trench using only his eyes.

 

This sparks a reaction from the command center on Yavin 4. “Red Five, you just switched off your targeting computer. What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing! I’m alright.” Red Five responds calmly and concentrates on flying down the trench while maneuvering past anti-aircraft projectiles.

 

“Hmph…the Force is strong with this one…” The pilot of the TIE Bomber mutters under his breath before attempting to fire at him.

 

The next thing that happened, was that the two TIE Interceptors were shot down in a flash out of nowhere. The TIE Bomber pilot gets caught off guard and looks around confusingly, wondering where the incoming fire came from.

 

Descending down to the trench, a Corellian YT-1300 freighter aircraft with the words _‘Millennium Falcon’_ painted on its side, comes in to the rescue and fires a couple of shots at the TIE Bomber. As a result, the TIE Bomber gets slightly damaged and ricochets off one of the walls of the trench and rolls off into space.

 

“Han!?” Red Five exclaims after watching his pursuer take damage.

 

“YAAAAAAA-HOOOOOO! You’re all clear, kid! Now let’s blow this thing up and go home!” The pilot of the Corellian YT-1300 aircraft screams out excitedly before ascending out of the trench to leave Red Five to the task.

 

Red Five smiles as he and his X-Wing were about a quarter of a mile away from the exhaust port. Taking a deep breath of confidence, the Rebel pilot pushes the red buttons on the control stick, releasing two proton torpedoes from his X-Wing. The projectiles enter the exhaust port…

Upon seeing the proton torpedoes enter down the main shaft, Red Five pulls up quickly to avoid crashing into the dead end, and he ascends high above the entire space station, the Death Star.

 

“Red Five, what’s your status!? Red Five!? Come in, Red Five!” Command inquires through the comms from Yavin 4.

 

But there is no answer. No answer from any of the Rebels at the Death Star.

 

There is only silence.

 

Silence.

 

Just silence….

 

((()))

 

Mon Mothma, Princess Leia, and several officers stand around the central hologram table, staring at the speaker & waiting for any response from the Rebel squadron in outer space. The people in the observatory have just announced that the Death Star was going to be in targeting range in five minutes. They were on the edge of death.

 

Jyn and Cassian stand with them, with their hands covering some part of their chin, lip, or mouth, indicating that they, too, were waiting for a response from the squadron. Both of them were the most anxious and most frightened out of all the Rebels in the base. Cassian looks over at Jyn, who then crosses one arm underneath the other and grasping her kyber crystal necklace tightly with the other hand. Their hearts were beating rapidly in response to their fear and anxiety of the Death Star’s attack.

 

The silence looms around the room for what seems to be the rest of the five minutes when…

 

“WOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOO! YEEEAAAHHHHH! WE DID IT!” A loud, happy, & excited voice exclaims through the comms radio. It is so loud that it stung the ear drums of everyone listening in the command room. “WE DID IT, BABY! THE DEATH STAR IS LONG GONE! TIME TO GO HOME, FOLKS!”

 

Mon Mothma, Princess Leia, and everyone else in the command room sighs loudly in what seems to be the greatest relief after they hear the voice of the Corellian YT-1300 freighter’s pilot excitedly and loudly announce the good news.

 

“Death Star is confirmed destroyed. I repeat, Death Star is confirmed destroyed. Mission successful. Returning to base.” The leader of the fleet informs the command center through the comms radio.

 

“We did it!” Princess Leia happily declares, approaching Mon Mothma and embracing her happily in a long hug. All of the other staff in the command room raised their hands in victory and celebrated with smiles on their faces.

 

But they weren’t the only ones celebrating their big victory.

 

Jyn and Cassian, after hearing the confirmation of the Death Star’s destruction, were in shock and awe simultaneously. They didn’t know what to think or what to say at the current moment. They couldn’t believe what they just heard. Cassian had his hands on both sides of his head in response and his eyes were widened and his mouth was open in awe, and Jyn let the kyber crystal necklace fall back down to her chest after placing her hands on her mouth, indicating that she was in shock and awe as well.

 

Deep down inside, they felt so happy that they wanted to scream all of the frustrations, worries, and fears out of their chests.

 

Cassian immediately, but quietly leaves the command room to head down to the main hangar. Noticing him leaving, Jyn follows him quickly without saying a word.

 

Cassian, now arriving in the hangar with his hand covering his mouth and his other hand placed on his hip, paced around excitedly. He wanted to let go of his fears already, and he wanted to express his joy in any way he could. Luckily, the main hangar was empty, and there was no one around at the moment. He also felt Jyn’s presence behind him. He gathers the courage to turn around and find Jyn with a smile on her face.

 

“Jyn, we did it!” Cassian exclaims happily.

 

Jyn nods and grins so very happily. “Yes!”

 

“Now our mission is complete! Your father’s plan worked!” Cassian tells Jyn with much enthusiasm, and he steps closer to her. Cassian places his hands on Jyn’s hips, and Jyn places her hands on his shoulders. The two of them smile happily into each other’s eyes like as if they were communicating silently through their minds.

 

“We did it, Cassian…We did it…” Jyn now says softly in a quieter voice.

 

“Chirrut…Baze….K-2….Bodhi….they didn’t die for nothing. They didn’t die in vain.” Cassian tells her in a quiet, calm voice. He strokes her brunette hair gently.

 

Jyn nods, agreeing with Cassian, and tears begin to burst from her eyes. “This is the moment we sacrificed our own lives for…and we did it, Cassian. We did it…” Jyn says to him before eventually releasing her cries. She lets her head rest on Cassian’s warm chest, and she also lets the tears fall down her cheeks. Her arms then wrap around Cassian in a gentle hug.

 

Cassian nods and returns the hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her closer to his chest. He feels so warm with her. He felt that they were heroes for the Rebellion, and the trillions of innocent lives around the galaxy. Seeing his Stardust so happy and victorious made tears appear in his brown eyes.

 

The two Rebels immediately take the moment to look each other in the eye for a very long minute. They admire each other’s beauty and each other’s happiness. This was their moment now.

 

Jyn cries more tears from the happiness that she is feeling deep in her heart, and this now causes tears to release from his eyes as well.

 

“Now we’re free.…mission accomplished. Jyn…” Cassian says in a small whisper that is almost inaudible. He whispered Jyn’s name after he says that because he clearly sees that Jyn has begun crying more intensely and has begun to hyperventilate: her breaths stutter in between small gasps of air in conjunction with her crying.

 

Cassian felt Jyn’s pain. It was the pain of finally becoming truly happy and feeling free from the reign of terror after such great efforts, and it was a good kind of pain, a different kind of pain.

 

“Cassian….” Jyn mumbles. Her cries cause her to hyperventilate before continuing. “….w-we did it….f-for t-them…for Rogue One, Cassian…” Jyn says while looking up into Cassian’s brown eyes with tears flooding her green eyes and tears trickling down her face. She hyperventilates while waiting for his response.

 

“Always….for Rogue One…” Cassian declares tearfully before pinning Jyn against a large stack of metal crates.

 

Surprised, Jyn lets her arms pin against the tall metal crates by Cassian’s hands. In a split second, Cassian kisses Jyn’s lips repeatedly and so very passionately like as if there is no tomorrow. The two gasp for air and moan slightly in between kisses.

 

“I-I’m sorry….I’m sorry f-for….everything….” Jyn mumbles while kissing, crying, & hyperventilating.

 

“Me too…” Cassian answers back at Jyn while returning her kisses. “I love you….I love you….” Cassian declares in between kisses. “….I love you so much….I love you, I love you, I deeply love you….”

 

Jyn closes her eyes and reciprocates every kiss on the lips that Cassian places on her, while allowing her tears to trail down her cheeks. “I love you…” Jyn happily declares.

 

They decide to deepen their passionate moment and take it further: Cassian slowly removes his brown jacket while kissing Jyn’s soft wet lips, exposing himself in his white short-sleeve shirt. Jyn does the same by slowly stripping off her jacket, revealing her white tank top. Cassian places his hands on her upper arms and rubs them gently as he kisses his female Rebel against the metal crates in the hangar. The two cry tears as they kiss, and it is such a beautiful moment.

 

After kissing for who knows how long, Jyn begins to cry even harder. Everything was overwhelming her: the victory, their four deceased best friends, the fears and worries being released, the memories of their mission in Scarif being released from her mind, and their special moment of making their love to each other. The moment was a sign: a sign with love written all over it with the letters Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso engraved in it. It was their perfect moment of peace.

 

“C-Cassian…” Jyn whimpers tearfully.

 

Jyn back begins to slide against the metal crate, because she was sliding down to the floor. She wanted to give out, but she couldn’t. Her love for Cassian kept her alive in the moment.

 

Jyn and Cassian both slide down against the metal crate and onto the floor, so that the both of them are now sitting on the cold solid floor of the main hangar against the metal crate. The two Rogue One members continue to kiss each other’s soft lips, cry tears, and repeat the words ‘ _I love you…so much_ ’ softly to each other. The twenty-seven year-old Captain/Intelligence Officer and the twenty-one year-old Sergeant just couldn’t get enough of each other.

 

After about five minutes, they stop kissing, and instead embrace each other. With Cassian sitting next to Jyn, he wraps both arms around her and rests his head on her head, and Jyn rests her head on his shoulder. Their tears still flow down their faces, and they both hyperventilate from their never-ending cries. They keep their eyes closed. They embrace each other because they so truly deserve their moment. They deserved it since the beginning. It was as if the Force meant to bring them together.

 

Jyn and Cassian’s moment was so special, because it honored Rogue One. They did everything for Rogue One. They risked everything, but it led to greater reward. They fought bravely in the end they thought was survivable, and their result was triumph, true victory. It was truly a joyful moment for Jyn and Cassian. The destruction of the very space station of the plans that they sadly & inevitably sacrificed their lives to send was the moment that they waited to bask in victory. It was for Rogue One. It was for Jyn’s parents. It was for Cassian’s parents. It was for the Rebels that assisted them and died on Scarif. It was for the Rebellion. It was for the people of the galaxy.

 

It was for everything.

 

That is what Jyn & Cassian happily died for, and were willing to live for again.


	11. Team Victory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (I know it’s been a long month & a half since I last updated the story. School started for me in the summer term, and I am busy now. I will try to work on the story on the weekends where I have time. Thank you for continuing to follow along in this RebelCaptain story, and don’t give up on me. Enjoy!)

**Chapter 11: Team Victory**

Their moment of deep feelings, happiness, and true love for each other masqueraded into the night. Jyn and Cassian felt so truly happy that their mission on Scarif led to a huge Rebellion victory, and it truly made them proud to be Rebels. Their sacrifice meant something honorable, and they knew it was all worth it.

Back up on their feet again, Jyn and Cassian have an arm resting on each others’ shoulders. They were smiling and chattering happily, for the Force spirits of Rogue One stood before them. It was the two remaining living members, and the four deceased spirits alone in the main hangar, with no one around to witness their surprising gathering. Jyn grins through emotional tears, and Cassian’s smile held slight laughs from the jokes Bodhi and K-2SO were telling.

“Thanks to you, Jyn, the galaxy just celebrated. They held on to the hope you gave them.” Baze congratulates her with a slight smile, for his low-key personality always stuck with him like a needle.

Jyn shakes her head. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without all of you. Really.” The young twenty-one year-old replies with a slight shrug of her shoulders with an innocent-looking facial expression.

“Hey...” Cassian places a hand on her shoulder as she gazes up at his chocolate brown eyes. He looks into her mesmerizing green eyes, searching for her attention. “We’re not just a team. We’re a family.”

K-2SO steps forward and raises a hand, catching Jyn & Cassian’s attentions. “Yes. That is precisely right. Though, I would’ve said the same thing. If I did, it would be because the Captain said so...” The gray former Imperial security droid states. His robotic voice looms around everyone’s ears, and they all laugh at K-2SO’s joke.

Jyn shifts her eyes to the floor for a moment, before finally realizing what she wanted to say. “So this is what we died for?”

“Happily. And honorably.” Chirrut answers for her, with his brown eyes accommodating the slight smile he forms.

“They’re proud of you, Jyn. Your mother and father. And Saw.” Cassian suddenly declares. Jyn looks up at him, knowing that he has more to say. “We’re all proud of you, Stardust.”

For some reason, Jyn’s face wanted to form a smile. But she was unable to. Though, she was proud of their greatest achievement yet, she still felt a great, vast sympathy for Rogue One.

It was survivor’s guilt that Jyn, but not Cassian, felt.

Jyn decides to speak up to get her team’s attention. “I wish...that you were here. To celebrate with us all.” Jyn speaks with a voice that almost sounded shaky, like as if it came from a guilty person whose vocal cords were affected by fear, shame and sadness. Her words get all eyes of Rogue One laid on her.

“Jyn...” Bodhi starts, with concern forming on his face.

“I sense that shame and guilt in you, sister. But that’s not the truth. They only cloud your mind.” Chirrut assures her.

“But...” Jyn tries to say back. She knew she and her Captain survived because of one special, powerful item that they were in direct physical contact with. She felt it was not fair to the four deceased members of her team standing right in front of her, and for that, she felt the guilt weighing down on her shoulders, despite the huge victory achieved by the Rebellion just earlier. Her heart was full of sorrow. Her heart was drowning in sorrow. And it was going to take over her feelings like a brain-washing virus.

“We are in a better place, Jyn.” Baze declares with a full smile this time and his arms crossed. “We’ll be waiting for you both.” He says with a dirty, playful smirk.

Everyone smiles and chuckles to Baze’s comment on that matter.

As Rogue One laughed on and conversed, Jyn looks over her shoulder behind her to see Mon Mothma standing near the entrance to the interior of the base doors. She stood there, watching them. Everyone but Jyn was unaware of her presence one-hundred feet behind them. She watched them: her Rebels who went rogue to finish the Rebellion’s mission that resulted from a new hope. The Rebel leader had a proud smile on her face, and she just smiled. She didn’t say a word to attract their attention. She only smiled. Jyn locked eyes with her leader for a long moment: it felt as though their comments and emotions were given to each other through the air from a distance. They both knew how the other was feeling. Mon Mothma knew just how important Cassian Andor, K-2SO, Chirrut Imwe, Baze Malbus, and Bodhi Rook were to Jyn. Mothma finally realized that they were the sole reason why Jyn wanted to continue living her second chance the kyber crystal gave her & Cassian. Eventually, Jyn gave a slight smile, and Mon Mothma gave one happy nod before turning to her left to quietly exit the hangar.

Jyn turns her attention back to the team and forms a small smile on her face as she leans her head against Cassian’s shoulder.

((()))

Mothma was about to enter the elevator to head back up to her office when she heard rapid footsteps arriving behind her. She turns around to see Jyn approach her with innocent-looking eyes and a face of confidence.

“Sergeant.” Mon Mothma starts off. “I see you’re enjoying your own little celebration.”

“Y-Yeah...” The twenty-one year-old former criminal replies.

After watching Jyn for a few long moments and not hearing a word from her, Mon Mothma tilts her head to the side in curiosity. “What’s on your mind?”

Jyn just shakes her head, unsure if she even wanted to say anything to her leader. “I-I just want to say…...thank you.”

Mon Mothma smiles and nods at her. “They really mean the universe to you, don’t they?” She asks her Sergeant.

Jyn only nods a ‘yes’ in response.

“Well...mission….FINALLY….complete, Sergeant Erso.” Mothma declares. “You do remember what we told you, yes?” She asks. This causes Jyn to nod again. “You would walk free when you’ve done your mission.” Mon Mothma reminds Jyn, referring to Jyn’s life before she was captured by the Rebellion: a prisoner at the Imperial prison camp on Wobani.

“Well, I...” Jyn starts off, but is cut off by the Rebel leader.

“You know, everyone has at least someone to fight for. We all have a reason to fight, and rebel.” Mon Mothma says calmly, with a smirk on her face.

Hearing those words from her, Jyn knew what message Mon Mothma was trying to deliver into her ears, as the thought of Rogue One came to her mind. Jyn smiles a big grin.

Mon Mothma says in a calm and friendly manner. “You may continue your service with the Rebellion for as long as you desire, Erso.”

Jyn immediately felt a burst of happiness and excitement flare up under her skin. She nods with a huge smile. “Thank you.” She thanks her leader happily, and Mon Mothma returns the nod before watching Jyn turn around to run back to the main hangar. Mon Mothma then turns around to enter the elevator.

((()))

The P.A. speakers blared loudly. “ATTENTION. RED SQUADRON RETURNING TO BASE IN APPROXIMATELY FIVE MINUTES.”

With the spirits of the deceased members of Rogue One vanished back into the afterlife after saying goodbyes to Jyn and Cassian for the night, the two Rebels put back on their jackets since they had them off during their desperate love moment in the main hangar earlier. The surviving pilots from the operation of destroying the Death Star were going to arrive any minute. Jyn and Cassian wanted to see the man who successfully destroyed the very thing they feared, the very thing they died to protect the galaxy from.


	12. The Real Heroes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (I know it has been a long time since I last updated this amazing story between Jyn and Cassian. I am very busy with moving into the new house, college work, etc. that I barely get time to get my head clear and write. I will try to update more often. NOW MAY I REMIND YOU: this story focuses on Jyn and Cassian’s relationship DURING the original trilogy’s timeline. This story may follow the events of ANH, TESB, and ROTJ, but it is only focusing on Jyn and Cassian as if they were in the original trilogy’s movies. This story may be the only RebelCaptain story out there that has an actual continuous storyline, so please continue to support and share my story to others. This chapter was originally supposed to be long, but I decided since I haven’t written in a while, I would just start off slow and shorten this chapter, and write the other half of this chapter as another separate chapter. Enjoy!)

**Chapter 12: The Real Heroes**

Red Squadron has just landed. They took to the deep depths of outer space and into enemy Imperial territory, and came back home with the eventual destruction of the Empire’s Death Star: the super massive planetary weapon that the Rebellion and the entire galaxy greatly feared. Some pilots never made it back, but they were one with the Force, and they were already celebrating in that ‘special place.’ Just inside the main hangar, every Rebel celebrated with loud cheers and raised hands. The pilots in Red Squadron were appraised and welcomed back with happy, open arms. They were hugged, kissed, patted on the backs & heads, and congratulated by every leader of the Rebel Alliance present in the base of Yavin 4.

 

But the most congratulated pilot in the spotlight was the very man who shot the proton torpedoes into the Death Star’s reactors himself: Red Five. Tall, slim, young, blonde hair, blue-gray eyes. Yet so young, he had the tenacity of a soldier. It would be unknown to everyone. Maybe the Force was strong with this one…

 

“You saved us all, Luke!” One of the pilots congratulated with a happy smile and a manly pat on the shoulder. So that was Red Five’s name…

 

“Thank you, thank you!” Red Five responds with pleasure and a polite smile.

 

A brunette man and a brown-haired Wookie approached the pilot from behind, and he wrapped one arm around his shoulders and took his other hand to rub the top of the blonde’s head playfully, expressing gratitude. “I knew you could do it, kid! Chewie had doubts about you!” The man smiles as the Wookie roars in annoyance to his comment when he actually did believe in the young pilot.

 

“If it wasn’t for you saving my ass out there, I wouldn’t have done it.” Red Five shakes his head.

 

“Ahhh!” The brunette man with a white long-sleeved shirt, black vest, and scoped blaster pistol yells out and points at him playfully before walking away.

 

Red Five’s celebration only lasts for a few minutes when he turns around to walk to the briefing room alone when he sights two unknown people to him, couple, rather: people that he hasn’t seen nor met on the base yet.

 

They stand about 10 feet in-front of him, side-to-side, shoulder-to-shoulder. One is a tall man with black hair and the other is a brunette woman who is much shorter than him. They eye the young blonde directly with a sense of coldness plastered on their faces. Instantly, Red Five felt nervous the moment he made direct eye contact with the two Rebels standing in-front of him. He knew exactly who they are, and he just did not know what to say at that split second.

 

“Umm….uh….wait…..you’re…” The blonde tries to speak, but his nervousness already takes over.

 

The two Rebels still have the cold, emotionless faces.

 

“Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso!” He finally realizes their names. His heart skips a beat as his nervousness spikes and degrades. “Oh my…..It is an honor to meet you two! I’m Luke Skywalker. They told us about you and Rogue One’s plan!”

The young Skywalker smiles in confusion and his eyes fill with awe when he notices that Jyn and Cassian wouldn’t say anything back. They both look at each other in the eyes, to which Luke knows that they are conveying messages to each other through their minds, before Jyn rests her head on Cassian’s shoulder and shifts her eyes back to Luke.

 

Cassian’s lips form a tiny smirk, and he finally speaks out to the young man who destroyed the weapon of the plans they sent. “Yes, Luke. It’s us: what’s left of Rogue One…” He says in a soft, almost inaudible voice.

 

Luke blinks a few times, for he still can’t believe that the couple is standing before him. “B-But how….!? How are you….still alive!? All of Rogue One was killed on Scarif.”

 

Cassian starts squeezing Jyn’s shoulder softly and affectionately when he wraps an arm around her. “…..We all have our secrets.” He manages to get out of his mouth.

 

Luke nods. However, he does notice that they did indeed seem a bit cold. He didn’t expect that from them. “Um…” He mutters under his breath in a confused state.

 

Cassian shifts his eyes over to the other side of the hangar where everyone else was still celebrating. “Well, congratulations, Skywalker.”

 

Luke accepted the gratitude, but he knew very well what to say. He shakes his head. “Oh, no, no, no. I should be congratulating both of you. You’re the ones who sent those plans. We wouldn’t have destroyed the Death Star without you.”

 

Cassian nods. “I guess.” Then, he looks down at Jyn, who smiles up at him, then he shifts his eyes back to Luke. “Enjoy your night, Luke. And thank you…” He says softly before turning away while holding Jyn firmly to his side and walking away towards the elevators.

 

“W-Wait! Captain! Where are you…” Luke asks confusingly when Cassian and Jyn suddenly decide to walk away from him. He sees that it’s no use and lets them do so, so he just sighs and looks down at the floor in dismay.

 

_‘Thank you.’_

_‘THANK you.’_

_‘THANK YOU’_

 

Those two words struck Luke like a lightning bolt. The moment he heard those two words sound from Cassian’s mouth, he felt his throat tightening. It was the guilt that was weighing down on Luke’s shoulders. Luke may be the one who destroyed the Death Star, but ultimately he knew that, deep down in his heart, that Jyn and Cassian were the true heroes in this whole operation, not him. They were the true victors that led this victory for the Rebellion. Luke knew exactly what Cassian was thanking him for: that _‘Thank you’_ was not for the congratulations, but for destroying the Death Star and finishing what both of them started when they inevitably could not. THAT is what struck Luke’s heart. Cassian was saying thank you on behalf of Jyn, and the rest of Rogue One. Realizing the meaning, Luke couldn’t help but feel happy, confused, sorry, and guilty simultaneously. But he realized that at the very least, he just helped bring happiness  & peace to the couple, and the spirits of their four deceased friends that they called family, and he felt proud of himself. It was truly one of the best things he has ever done for anybody thus far, and he bet that Jyn and Cassian never thought that anyone would end up doing that just for them.


	13. The Right Place

**Chapter 13: The Right Place**

“Sergeant Erso! Captain Andor!” An astonished-sounding female voice calls out to the two miraculous survivors of Scarif.

 

Jyn and Cassian are surprised when they turn around to see that a woman dressed in a white long dress is smiling at them. She has brown eyes and brunette hair that are rolled into two buns on both sides of her head. Jyn and Cassian knows who she is: one of the key leaders of the Rebel Alliance.

 

“Princess Leia!” Both Jyn and Cassian say at the same time.

 

Leia Organa approaches them with a happy vibe: her presence surrounds them with a powerful energy that they’ve never felt from her. Though, it is their first time meeting her. But any member in the Rebellion were required to know who the leaders were, not to mention that Jyn had to know just hours after swearing her allegiance to the Rebellion, and her mission of finding Saw Gerrera several days earlier. Leia knew of their return and their second chance at their lives, and she is more than happy to have them back in service.

 

“Princess, it is an honor to-“ Jyn begins, but Leia cuts in the way.

 

“I think it’s better if we talk here.” Leia points towards a very familiar disc-shaped ship isolated away from the other starfighters in the main hangar.

 

It had the words ‘Millennium Falcon’ written on its side.

 

Jyn and Cassian look at each other curiously before Jyn nods in agreement. “Of course.”

They sense as though Leia was either in a hurry or wanted to talk to them in private.

 

((()))

 

“It’s extraordinary.” Leia commented with enthusiasm as she held Jyn’s kyber crystal necklace and examined it closely. She inspects every inch of it as she becomes so very focused and interested in its craftmanship and its powerful, miraculous capability that it gave to her two Rebels.

 

Cassian had the biggest urge to give a smile to Jyn, and she returns the smile, this time twice as powerful, for it made him blush through the feelings of butterflies in his belly. He loved the great benefit that his Sergeant’s necklace gave them, and he felt like kissing her passionately at the moment.

 

“We’re thankful for it. We’ve my mother to thank the most, after all.” Jyn has a slight smile when she mentions her mother, as the flashback of Lyra passing the necklace on to Jyn in Lah’mu replayed in her consciousness.

 

Leia looks at Jyn and smiles as she hands back her crystal necklace. “And we have both of you to thank more than anyone else!” The Princess exclaims with much joy and pleasure in her voice. “You have no idea how much of a positive impact this operation had on our progress to restore peace. The Rebellion can’t thank you two enough.”

 

“Thank you, Princess. It was an honor. The Empire will have more things to worry about now..” Cassian falls silent suddenly, which catches Jyn’s attention. She got a little clue of how he was really feeling in the inside. And Leia even noticed him as well.

 

“Look, both of you.” Leia catches their attention. Jyn and Cassian both look up at the Princess from their seats at the small round table in the main center cabin of the Millennium Falcon. “I am terribly sorry for the loss of your friends in Scarif, but there are still important matters at hand. The Empire’s garrison may have diminished today, but all we did was anger them. They’re going to come back with more force soon enough, and we still have to defend ourselves against them in the near future.” Leia explains, then observes her two Rebels’ facial expressions. Jyn and Cassian look at each other with blank emotionless faces. Of course, they knew that the war between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire was still ongoing. The destruction of the Death Star was just the tip of the iceberg for them, despite all the hard work and sacrifices they made the past several days. It was the price of being a Rebel, after all, and they didn’t mind.

 

“We know, Princess Organa. We just felt as though the war did end…” Cassian responds with this statement, on Jyn’s behalf as well.

 

Leia shakes her head in denial. “Well, in the meantime, we have Rebel intelligence teams out there retrieving intel and making predictions on the Empire’s next moves. As a personal reward from me, I’ll grant both of you some rest time. I’m sure you needed it after Scarif’s incident. Most of your duties can be at this base if you want.” She smiles.

 

Cassian nods and glances quickly at Jyn, ensuring that she followed the conversation, before turning back to Leia. “Much appreciated. Jyn and I have our….own agendas to attend to anyhow.”

 

He looks back at Jyn, and he senses nervousness under his skin as she gives him a weird look. Her green eyes gave the _‘What the hell?’_ stare. Cassian didn’t mean it THAT way. So, he raises his eyebrows and tilts his head slightly, sending her a message that meant _‘Not like that!’_

Leia, unsure what Cassian meant by that, shrugs her shoulders and chuckles with a smile. “Well, I have to get back to the briefing room with the other leaders and officers. You two make yourselves comfortable here. We’ll need you soon enough. Captain. Sergeant.” Princess Leia declares and turns to leave, but suddenly Jyn and Cassian sights a man that they had seen earlier in the base.

 

It is the man with brown hair, white long sleeve shirt, black vest, and a scoped blaster pistol, accompanied by a tall, huge, brown Wookie with a Crossbow blaster slung over his back.

 

Jyn and Cassian widen their eyes before standing up with Leia.

 

“Well, if it isn’t the Princess of the Falcon onboard!” The man says with a mischievous smile, and the Wookie behind him gave a roaring laugh.

 

“Han…” Leia mutters with a bit of anger and annoyance under her breath. Though, she still realizes that her Rogue One members were present. “Captain Andor, Sergeant Erso, this is Han Solo and Chewbacca. Han, Chewie, meet Jyn and Cassian.”

 

Han is astonished the moment he lays his eyes on the two fellow Rebels. His eyes widen with excitement as he holds out a hand to Cassian for a handshake, to which Cassian accepts. “The prodigy survivors. Talk about miracle. We have you to thank for giving those Rebels the plans of that Death station, brother. Hell of a job you guys pulled off!”

 

“Welcome aboard, sir.” The Intelligence Officer replies with slight gratitude.

 

Chewbacca roars before sitting down at the round table. Leia shoots Han a small glare before proceeding to stride through the Falcon’s loading ramp to exit the ship. Her white dress glides with every stride, and follows her fluidly. Han places his hands on his hips and focuses his attention back to Jyn and Cassian.

 

“She doesn’t take jokes lightly, to tell you the truth. I’m beginning to wonder if she gets that from her mother.” Han scoffs.

 

“No, she does not…” Both Jyn and Cassian say at the same time while shaking their head side to side, saying _‘no.’_ They knew what Princess Leia liked and disliked, and they were careful not to bring up anything she dislikes whenever a conversation occurred with her.

 

“If you don’t mind, Solo, Jyn and I have somewhere to be. It was good to meet with you, and welcome to the Rebellion.” Captain Andor gestures to him.

 

Han shrugs his shoulders. “Well, I came for the fight. Chewie and I never thought of staying.”

 

Cassian stares at Han for a moment before nodding once, accepting his statement despite being dismayed. Cassian loved the Rebellion as much as he loved Jyn, and he would take in as many recruits as he could, no matter who it was. He would recruit the whole galaxy if he had to, just to defeat the Empire. “Let me know if you change your mind. Good day.” Cassian says before exiting the Millennium Falcon.

 

“Hey!” Han calls out behind them, grabbing a bottle containing a drink. “I’ll stay just a little longer! Chewie and I have a celebration of our own!” He laughs as he pops open his bottle, and the loading ramp closes.

 

After walking a few paces away from the Falcon, Jyn and Cassian stop in their tracks. Jyn smiles slightly, as so does Cassian. “Lovely people.” Jyn points out.

 

“Except you.” Cassian shoots back at her, which causes Jyn to nudge him in the abdomen in response, and Cassian let out a small groan. “Okay, just kidding.”

 

((()))

 

Jyn stood there, in front of the bed that was already prepared for her with pillows and bed sheets. Since she is a new recruit in the Rebellion, despite her huge surprising victory on Scarif and the greater victory it led to earlier tonight, the officers were kind enough to give her a room in the crew’s quarters to live in, which is located on the 2nd floor in the crew’s quarters building. She takes one good look around her. All she had was her bed, a closet, and a desk. There were no windows, just lights. She could hear other Rebels around her: on the other sides of her room walls next door, down the long corridors, even above her ceiling and on the 3rd floor. She felt lonely and annoyed. She felt the past weighing down on her shoulders again. _‘This reminds me of Wobani prison camp…’_ Jyn thought to herself, despite being in a Rebel base and having a much better, bigger room than a prison cell. She did her best to shake off the memory because she was tired of being a prisoner. It would be annoying like this every day, she guessed, but at least it was better than being in a prison cell with worse entities. She could get used to it. She was tired of running as a criminal and living as a prisoner. This time, she wanted to try a different path that her kyber crystal granted her.

 

Moments later, her room’s door slides open, and Cassian appears in front of it wearing his usual brown jacket and pants that served as his uniform. His arm rests against the doorway, and he smiles his handsome smile that Jyn saw so cute with his black beard. “Hello, Sergeant.”

 

Jyn looks up at Cassian from the middle of her room. She never moved an inch from where she was standing. “Captain…”

 

Cassian looks down at the floor, trying to hold in a chuckle, before smiling up back at her again. “May I come in?”

 

Jyn pauses for a moment, then answers him. “Yeah.”

 

“I see you settled in here pretty quickly.” Cassian notices. He sees a holographic image on Jyn’s desk that showed the same photo she had in her house in Lah’mu: the family photo of little Jyn and her mom & dad. And another holographic image next to it showed a copy of the photo Cassian always kept in his wallet, a photo that was so very sentimental to them both: a photo of Rogue One before their mission on Scarif, where they died heroically to save the galaxy from a planet destroyer.

 

“You know, my quarters and office are up on the 8th floor. So, if you need anything, just come and let me know.” Cassian informs Jyn. He scans his brown eyes all over her innocent-looking face. “We’re just sitting tight until duty calls.”

 

“I know, Cassian.” Jyn acknowledges & nods. Her heart skipped a beat when she realizes that Cassian bent down to place a gentle kiss on her lips. Then, he begins to walk away; he was about an inch away from the door when something stopped him.

 

“Cassian.”

 

The Rebel Intelligence Officer stops and hears the young, soothing, female voice that stopped him. Cassian turns around to look at Jyn with curiosity. “Yes, Jyn? You alright?”

 

The young 21-year-old female Rebel just stares at the 27-year-old Intelligence Officer straight in the eyes, where their eyes locked in harmony and deep focus. Cassian wanted to say something again, but for some reason he could not. They just stood there in Jyn’s room, with nothing but their eyes seeing the love that was blooming behind their minds, like an animal waiting to pounce at its prey. Silence filled & lingered the air amongst them. Time froze between them.

 

And then all at once, Cassian turns around to see that Jyn’s door closes suddenly. “Huh!?” He mutters confusingly after turning his attention back to Jyn. He didn’t know how the door closed, for the buttons were on panels inside and outside the room. Cassian starts to get nervous as Jyn takes a step closer to him with the blank expression on her face. “Um….Jyn?”

 

Jyn keeps her silence in. She took a few steps closer, where she eventually approaches him at about a half foot away so that they were face-to-face with each other. Cassian looks down at her, Jyn looks up at him. Jyn’s chest expands rapidly from the increase in heart rate. Cassian now notices that Jyn looks like she is about to tear up and cry. But there are no tears present in her eye tear ducts. He only sees the sad-looking face that he believed to be beautiful to him no matter what. Before Cassian knew it, Jyn places her hands on his shoulders, and she pushes up slightly on her toes to reach her lips to his lips, and she places a very passionate kiss that turns him on instantly. Cassian’s heart skips a beat, then beats faster than before. His hands start to shake from excitement and tiny bits of nervousness, because he knows that butterflies were forming in his belly.

 

After returning the kiss, Cassian opens his eyes and smiles at Jyn. He knew nothing was wrong. He knew she wanted him right now, and he knew she wanted to be held close by the man who survived the bloody mess with her.

 

But what now surprises Cassian is that he frowns when he suddenly notices Jyn removing both brown gloves off her hands and letting them drop to the floor. Then, she proceeds to remove her brown vest that she wore over her gray jacket. This sparks a new level of excitement, as well as a bit of shyness, in the Captain.

 

“Uh….J-Jyn!? What are you….doing?” Cassian asks with much confusion as his smile fades away. He blinks several times, rapidly.

 

Jyn then completely removes her gray jacket and lets it fall to the floor, revealing her in her white tank top. She wraps her arms around her Captain’s neck, and tilts her head to the side, further reinforcing her showings of affection for him. Cassian blinks rapidly and tries to push her arms away.

 

“Jyn! Remember, I’m your Captain, I’m your boss. No one here should know about this, about…..us.” Cassian warns Jyn in a quiet whisper.

 

Jyn ignores Cassian’s warning, instead pressing her chest against his gently to deepen the act of affection. “Then we don’t tell anyone. This is only between us, my Captain.”

 

She plants a soft kiss on his lips, with her eyes closed, and Cassian attempts to object. But, he finds himself moaning into the kiss with his eyes shut too. He feels every bit of love through the power of their lips exchanging kisses. Once his eyes shut, he was already in a void he felt he couldn’t help but remain in: a void of love. It felt like ages, but the next thing he realized when he opened his eyes was that Jyn was straddling over his laps, on her bed. Jyn pushed Cassian to sit on the bed while they kissed deeply, so that she was sitting on his laps in her black slacks and white tank top.

 

Cassian is about to say something.

 

His attempt is interrupted when, right in front of his eyes, Jyn quickly strips off her white tank top, revealing her bare chest, her bare breasts.

 

Cassian’s heart jolts in a flash: his heart rate increases more rapidly, and his breaths become shaky from becoming blushful. Jyn notices that her boss’s cheeks are light pink in color, and she takes that as a sign that indicates he loves her more than anything.

 

“Mmmm……just between us. Yeah….I can do that.” Cassian whispers back while staring into his girlfriend’s forest green eyes.

 

Cassian was supposed to stay up in his own quarters and office on the 8th floor since he was an Intelligence Officer with a higher rank than Jyn. But for other Rebels to see a higher ranked Rebel with a lower ranking Rebel together, not to mention sleeping with each other, it would be a bad sign.

 

But, did Cassian believe he wanted to be alone up in his own quarters?

 

No…he believed he was already in the right place.


	14. Ephemeral Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (This chapter is shocking, and I think it’s amazing the way I wrote it. Just by writing it, I felt I was part of the story so much that I felt like I was actually engaging with the characters. Enjoy!)

**Chapter 14: Ephemeral Nightmare**

_It was blurry all around. The captive couldn’t make out a single shape or person in his sight; all he could see was just blurry light. Not only he could barely see clearly, but he could hear sounds also: the sounds of a woman screaming both in pain and anger, not to mention that he was also on his knees, and he could barely move. It distressed him. It worried him. He made an attempt to free himself from the wrist restraints behind his back, but it was no use. He & the unknown woman were completely helpless._

_The prisoner heard the sound of a punch on the face, and a groan indicating the reaction of the woman, who turned out to be the other prisoner in the cell with him._

_But why was he in the cell with her?_

_It became a question of curiosity to him. He couldn’t remember why they were there, or how they got there. All that conquered his mind was confusion. He kept asking himself unlimited, endless questions until he heard a male voice in the room with them that both surprised him and confused him even more._

_The voice sounded calm: calm, but sinister. It had a heavy accent. His voice was deep, with anger. He sounded like he was demanding things from both the prisoner and the woman. ‘This didn’t happen by chance,’ the prisoner thought to himself. ‘This was set up.’_

_There was a moment of silence before the prisoner heard the woman shuffling away from the captor. Apparently, she was sitting on the floor in wrist restraints too. She was as helpless as the male prisoner, and he could feel the impatience and pain already through her._

_“You’re going to make a choice, and you will decide right now!” The captor yelled violently at the female prisoner. However, that voice sounded familiar to the male prisoner._

_“….No…..that’s not going to happen! Not now, not ever!” The woman yelled back aggressively, fighting her captor verbally. Her rapid breaths could be heard from the male prisoner across the cell._

_The man laughed hysterically. “Oh, really? You’re just like your mother and father! Rebellious, unfaithful, stubborn, backstabbing low-lives!”_

_This insult about the female’s parents sparked much rage in her blood that she immediately snapped back at the man so loud, at the top of her lungs. She was furious, and she felt as though she could break free from the restraints and beat the life out of the man. “DON’T YOU SAY THAT ABOUT THEM! YOU CAUSED EVERYTHING THAT THEY WENT THROUGH! EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED TO THEM WAS BECAUSE THEY RAN FROM THE EMPIRE! BECAUSE THEY RAN FROM YOU!”_

_Surprised. That was exactly how the male prisoner felt the moment he heard the woman retaliate with her words through his still-blurry sight. But since things were heating up, and afraid that the captor was going to do something painful back to them, the male prisoner thought of injecting his own voice into the fray._

_“Well, they’re both dead now, orphan girl!” The captor laughed again, insulting and taunting the woman. He rubbed her chin, to which she pulled away defensively from the anger that built up in her._

_“YOU BASTARD!” The female screamed with fury._

_“H-Hey…w-what’s going on here!?” The male captive finally spoke, much to the unknown man’s surprise._

_The mysterious captor chuckled and slowly approached the male prisoner. He could see him coming closer through his blurry vision, and his heart skipped beats rapidly with each step the man took towards him. “Well, well, well, look who decided to join us. Such a sleepy one, I presume. But he’s good. He could make such a lovely Deathtrooper to my collection!” The man taunted, further angering the woman._

_“NO! He will not!” The female defended._

_The male prisoner suddenly realized something. That woman’s voice….it was very, VERY familiar._

_And his vision was slowly and gradually becoming clearer by the minute. He could see the captor. He was a tall, old man with gray hair. And he was wearing a white uniform with a white cape…_

_He also sees that the woman was wearing a gray jacket with a brown vest over it, and black pants. Her brunette hair was tied in a bun on the back of her head and fringes that hung on each side of her face. She looked very, VERY familiar to him._

_“Then declare to me that you will join us! Join the Galactic Empire, and destroy those Rebel scums that you call friends!” The man demanded out of the woman._

_The woman was struck. Now, her anger reached a full level._

_“NEVVVVVERRRRRRRRR!” She angrily forced the rejection from her lungs through barred teeth and shook her head, with a furious-looking face. She briefly licked the small spot of blood on her bottom lips, which resulted from the physical abuse inflicted by the man in white._

_The man in white chuckled upon hearing that._

_The woman, with her blood mixed with her saliva in her mouth, spat her blood on the man’s white uniform. This caused him to jerk back, and surged angry feelings through his veins._

_“Alright then, Jyn Erso. Let’s see if your partner in crime joining us will make you join, since you’re as defiant as your mother was.” The white-uniformed Imperial declares. He turns to the male prisoner, and he dashes towards him in a flash. The male prisoner widens his eyes in surprise and confusion._

_Jyn’s anger levels instantly drops, and she widens her eyes in concern as she watched. “What? Wait! What are you doing to him!? Orson! Orson Krennic!” Jyn attempted to catch his attention, but it was no use. He already grabbed ahold of the male prisoner._

_Orson Krennic violently and aggressively stood the male prisoner up on his feet, then gave him one punch to the abdomen. He groaned in pain, and Jyn screamed in response and sympathy._

_“Guards!” Orson yelled towards the cell door, and two of his Deathtrooper bodyguards entered the cell and took the male captive by the arms. The male prisoner was powerless: he couldn’t move nor fight back. Krennic most likely drugged him with a powerful sedative that inhibited his senses. All he could do was observe, hear, and think._

_‘N-No…I will not…join….them.’ The prisoner said to himself in his own mind. His eyes began to close slowly, for he was about to drift into a deep sleep again. ‘J-Jyn…’ He called out to himself silently._

_Jyn’s voice rang out loudly through the air._

_“NO!!!!!! CASSSSSIIIIIAAAAAANNNNNNN!”_

_After that, a very long ten seconds passed before a sound is heard in pitch black darkness. It was a deep, sinister-sounding breathing sound, and it sounded like it was a breath emitted through a mask…_

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_Then a low-pitched, sinister voice speaks._

_“Join the dark side. Together, we’ll rule the galaxy…”_

((()))

 

His eyes fly open instantly. His breaths are rapid and shaky. His heart is pounding forcefully against the inside of his chest. Cassian gasped loudly and INSTANTLY sat up in the bed, forcing the blanket off his bare, topless torso, for he is sleeping without a shirt. He hyperventilates relentlessly: inhales and exhales exchange through his lips every quarter of a second. He feels so scared at that moment. Sweat drips from his face and chest, slightly wetting the bed sheets underneath him.

 

Cassian just had a nightmare.

 

“Oh my…oh m-my……oh my gosh….” Cassian’s shaky, trembling voice whispers in the room. Ignoring the sweat drenched all over his body, he looks over to his left to see Jyn sleeping on her side, topless, and her back faced to him. He sighs a big, much-needed sigh of relief before getting up from the bed, and he slips on his shirt before exiting Jyn’s room in a hurry.

 

Unbeknownst to Cassian, Jyn was wide awake, with her eyes open staring at the wall. She did indeed wake up to Cassian’s awakening, but she didn’t want to alert him to her presence. After hearing Cassian leave her room, she slowly sits up, shifting both eyes towards the automatic sliding door. _‘What’s wrong with him!?’_ she thought nervously. Jyn is now greatly worried by Cassian’s sudden awakening and his behavior. It did not seem normal, she concludes.

 

Cassian stands at a balcony overlooking the sea of trees below, and stares into the night sky. He watches as a comet flies downwards through the night, and he watches the stars twinkle with their radiance. Cassian has questions on his mind, since he is in the ‘thinking posture’: one hand in his pocket, the other hand grips the metal railing in front of him. Something is on his mind that is making fear conquer his emotions.

 

Only a few minutes allow Cassian silence all to himself until he feels a presence behind him: a presence that he knows so well already. He knows that Jyn is standing just several feet behind him. Luckily, it was only the two of them together at the balcony; the other Rebels were either asleep or on night duty in the other parts of the base.

 

Cassian breaks the awkward silence between them. “What?”

 

Jyn stares at him, stares at his back. She has on her tank top, and she has her arms crossed as well, further expressing her mood of concern for her lover. “Is that all you have to say? After what happened back there?” The worriedness can be sensed in her slightly shaky voice.

 

Cassian waits for a quick moment before speaking. He didn’t really want to tell her anything, despite knowing that it would aggravate her. “I’m just getting some fresh air. Maybe you’re sleepwalking.”

 

Hearing Cassian’s ridiculous, mediocre excuse, Jyn shakes her head side-to-side slowly and furrows her brows. “Really!? Does gasping for air desperately in bed sound like getting fresh air!?” She snaps, raising her voice just a little bit. The hint of aggravation can be sensed already in her voice.

 

Cassian wanted to tell her, but he didn’t have the guts to. Inside, his mind was in a battle between truth and lie. So, he refused. “It’s nothing…”

 

“Like hell, it’s nothing!” Jyn snaps louder.

 

Cassian stays quiet for a moment.

 

Jyn stares at his back hard, waiting for an honest answer, but she gets impatient with him.

 

“Eadu.” Jyn says. This makes Cassian turn his head slightly, emitting a least response for Jyn. She knows she is getting some sense into him now. Cassian’s heart skips a beat when the memory of their argument in the stolen Imperial ship on Eadu over the assassination of her father, Galen Erso, flashed in his eyes.

 

“Don’t lie to me, Cassian. You can’t lie to me again. You’ve done it to me once, I won’t let you do that again. I know you well enough already, Cassian. TELL ME, NOW. WHAT’S WRONG?” Jyn’s voice is aggressive in those words, especially with the last few words. Cassian can tell that she is very serious with her concern over him. Remembering that Jyn is reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined, he guesses that he couldn’t stand a chance withholding things from her.

 

“I’m…worried about you.” Jyn declares in a softer voice this time.

 

Feeling some shame over making his girlfriend’s worriedness and anxiety increase, he sighs heavily and turns to face her. She still has her arms crossed and her face still has the look of concern.

 

“I….I had a dream. A very bad dream, Jyn.” Cassian finally tells Jyn the truth, to which her hearts rises to her throat, creating the feeling of a lump and tightness in there. She gets more nervous hearing what Cassian has to explain.

 

“T-That man we encountered at that tower on Scarif….Krennic, is his name. I saw that he was alive.” Cassian says with fear in his words. He frowns slightly to accompany his fear.

 

Jyn widens her eyes as her heart beats a bit faster than normal upon hearing that. “Orson Krennic!? But he was killed in that Death Star blast! Everything on those beaches were wiped out that day! There’s no way he could’ve survived that.”

 

“Jyn, he tortures us. In the dream, he interrogates us and hurts us. We were….his prisoners.” Cassian explains more, while watching Jyn’s face closely to observe some sort of reaction. Jyn tilts her head to the side, curious, but still growing more concerned and anxious.

 

“P-P-Prisoners?” Jyn stutters in disbelief.

Cassian nods as in _‘yes.’_

“W-What did he say?” Jyn asks.

 

Cassian looks down at the floor in dismay, nervous of what he wanted to say next. Jyn observes him, and she gives him time to pluck up the courage to speak the information. “He made insults about your parents. A-And…he…..he…..” Cassian struggles to say the very thing that he feared of telling Jyn about his nightmare. Jyn stares at him directly in the eye, urging him to go on.

 

“…..He manipulates you in joining the dark side by forcing me to join them.” Cassian finally spits the truth out. He clenches his fists as tight as he can, he stands up straight, and calmly observes Jyn as he breathes smoothly to keep his nervousness at level.

 

And with the truth finally revealed, Jyn is shocked, and she looks down at the floor confused. She did not understand his dream either, but whatever it was, it was bothering her Captain, and it was her obligation to care and maintain his well-being. “The….d-dark…s-side?” She whispers quietly so only they hear.

 

A very long moment of silence occurs before passing when Cassian decides to ask a question.

 

“What if the dream is real, Jyn? What if what I saw is exactly something that will happen to us in the future?” Cassian asks, with anxiety at its highest in his voice. Jyn looks up at him and they make eye contact full of concern and curiosity. But Jyn decides to approach Cassian so that they were face-to-face with each other, and she places her hands on his arms to express her confidence in him.

 

“Cassian, it’s just a dream. Dreams can’t be true. It’s just….involuntary imagination. Maybe it’s not real.” Jyn suggests.

 

“Do you believe so?” Cassian injects.

 

Jyn places her hands on his cheeks instantly, and nods confidently while gazing innocently into his brown eyes. “Yes, I do, Cassian. Real, or not real, whatever happens along the way, I’m with you all the way. I love you, Cassian. We’re in this together, no matter what.”

 

Cassian nods and reaches behind her to gently stroke her brunette hair. “I guess so. It’s just a dream…”

 

Jyn smiles and places a gentle kiss on his cheek before wrapping an arm around him. They turn around and head along the corridor back to Jyn’s quarters. “Come on. Let’s get back to bed.”

 

Although, he was still paranoid by the nightmare, Cassian greatly trusted his Sergeant, his 21-year-old lover., his ultimate partner in crime. He believed in her, and he had faith in her and himself, and in the Rebels around him. _‘It’s nothing to worry about then,’_ he thought.

 

Or was it?


	15. A Clear Message

**Chapter 15: A Clear Message**

Jyn and Cassian smiles their biggest smiles up to date, because they were so proud of what they helped accomplish: the destruction of the planet destroyer, the Death Star. They stood up on the stage with the other three members of the team that took the battle to space: Luke, Han, and Chewbacca. They held their heads high, with joy visible on their lips & cheeks as they watch the Rebellion happily applauded them for their heroic efforts the other day.

 

Princess Leia was among the people on stage, and she gave Jyn and Cassian the highest honor, for she placed them higher on the stage than Luke, Han, and Chewbacca. She couldn’t be prouder. She smiles joyfully at the crowd as they continue clapping.

 

Jyn tried her best to resist the urge to fiddle with the gold medal around her neck. She hasn’t felt this excited and this happy in ages, given her past. Cassian quickly turns his head to smile down at her and wink, to which Jyn reciprocates with a small, soft curve of the corners of her lips. However, she knew this moment of achievement was temporary, because she knew this war with the Galactic Empire was still ongoing, and this destruction of the Death Star was just the tip of the iceberg. Jyn knew she couldn’t smile for long. There was still much ahead of them.

 

((()))

 

“A dream, you say?” The voice of Lyra Erso’s Force spirit lingers the air. Galen and Lyra’s spirits stand in Jyn’s room, where they take conversation with their daughter, their only child.

 

“Yes….it was more of a nightmare. A very bad nightmare, by the way he woke up.” Jyn explains with her arms crossed, for she paces around her quarters with concern filling her head about Cassian’s bad dream the other night. Galen and Lyra takes a long moment to think rigorously about the thought, but there wasn’t a good clue about it.

 

“And Captain Andor says he saw Orson Krennic too?” Galen asks. In response, Jyn nods, and Galen looks at Lyra with concern. “Did Orson say anything in the dream?”

 

Jyn stops her pacing so she faces her parents. “Krennic said that he….” She pauses to observe the facial expressions on her parents’ faces. “….wanted us to join the Empire, or he would kill us.”

 

Galen and Lyra sigh at each other with a sense of concern as well, despite it being a dream. They could sense the fear in their daughter’s consciousness, and, as the Erso family tradition goes, if their child is in fear, then they are in fear as well.

 

“Look, Jyn, I know this is all too much for you right now. But it was just a dream. Orson was killed in that blast.” Galen says.

 

“We cannot see nor predict the future, dear. The present is what matters most.” Lyra adds to her husband’s sentence.

 

“What if it is true, father? I don’t want anything to happen to Cassian, or me.” Jyn asks desperately, clasping her hands together as she takes many steps closer to her parents’ spirits.

 

“Just take precautions. Somehow…I sense it too. I can feel something is a bit out of place. Just be careful, my Stardust.” Galen warns her before wrapping an arm around Lyra, and Jyn nods in confirmation. Then, she watches her parents’ spirits fade away.

 

There are so many questions in the former criminal’s mind, but she is interrupted in her thoughts when the electronic panel to her door beeps, and the door slides open. Her Captain strides into the room in a casual manner, and he looks as lively as ever. Jyn forms a small smile as she takes his hand and kisses it. “It feels great to be honored by the crowd, isn’t it? Cassian says, fiddling with the gold medal around his neck. It would make a great addition to the walls of his office, for sure.

 

“Yeah…I guess.” Jyn mumbles while pressing her face into Cassian’s shoulders.

 

Cassian notices and frowns. “Jyn? What is it?”

 

Jyn just shakes her head. “Just worried about you and your nightmare, that’s all.”

 

“Jyn…” Cassian sighs and places a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. I’m right here, with you. There’s still a war going on, and we can’t let fear conquer our well-being. Alright?” He advises her before placing a soft, gentle loving kiss on her forehead. She loves the feeling of his kisses, and she could bask in that feeling for eternity.

 

Suddenly, something at the door caught Jyn’s eye. She pulls herself away from Cassian’s embrace and eyes the entity. It is a small, white & blue service droid. It apparently rolled its way into Jyn’s quarters quietly & slowly, and it appeared to greet her.

 

“Well hi, there.” Jyn smiles at the droid.

 

The droid beeps as its response.

 

Cassian points at the white & blue droid. “Oh, that is R2-D2! He’s one of the best servicing droids at this base. A good little mischievous companion to have around…” Cassian jokes after chuckling. R2-D2 beeps very loudly after hearing that insult from Cassian, and Jyn turns to glare at him. His laugh fades instantly. “Just kidding.”

 

R2-D2 beeps a few more times at Jyn.

 

“Why, thank you! We’ve done it for all of you.” Jyn bends down and pats the top of R2-D2’s dome-shaped ‘head.’

 

“You understand him!?” Cassian asks in much surprise, for his eyes widen and his mouth drops open a little bit.

 

Jyn nods as she examines the front of R2-D2’s metal body. “Of course. Living with a farming droid for four years can pay off.”

 

Cassian slaps his forehead in a facepalm since he realizes that Jyn developed skills in understanding droid language when she was a little girl on Lah’mu. “Right.” Then, a blue blinking light flashes in R2-D2’s ‘eye.’ “Look. I think he has a message for you.”

R2-D2 opens up one of his compartments to reveal a metal ‘arm’ reaching out to Jyn with a white piece of paper with a written message on it. Jyn curiously examines the paper in her fingers, unwrapping it until she can clearly read the sentence through the many wrinkles & creases on the paper’s surface.

 

Jyn reads it out loud with Cassian listening carefully.

 

“Congratulations. You have my honor. The Force was truly with you. Luke.”

 

Suddenly, Jyn feels a surge of energy boost in her, for her kyber crystal necklace glows under her gray jacket. She folds the message and twirls it between her fingers, thinking about the young pilot she just met the other day, Luke Skywalker. She doesn't really know the young man, but she is impressed by his achievement since he was the one who finished the job for her and Cassian.

 

“Huh. That young Skywalker kid probably looks up to us. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a mistake…” Cassian mutters.

 

Suddenly, Jyn looks up to see another droid appear, this time, a human-looking droid. It had a shiny gold finish, and two circle-shaped lights on its face that appeared to be its ‘eyes.’ She immediately stands up to appear to the droid.

 

“Why, hello!” The droid says. “My name is C-3PO. I’d like to thank you and Captain Andor on behalf of the 5,000 Rebels at this base! It truly is a pleasure to meet you, Sergeant Erso!”

 

Jyn smiles, but Cassian points at C-3PO and whispers in her ear so that C-3PO couldn’t hear. “Annoying one.” He whispers.

 

C-3PO tilts his head in response. “Oh, how rude, Captain! Come on, R2. Let’s get out of here.” He exclaims as he and R2-D2 leave the corridor of the 2nd floor.

 

Cassian was about to laugh when he noticed that Jyn was in deep thought, because she immediately paced around her room, with her finger rubbing her chin. She was thinking about something, and Cassian was wondering what she was thinking or planning. “What is it? Jyn?”

 

Jyn takes a long moment pacing around before answering him. The moment she’s seen C-3PO, a splendid idea arrived in her mind. She wanted to enact the plan right away, because she felt a great need to. “Cassian, what if…” She starts off, but is cut off by a familiar robotic voice that she knows very well.

 

“Oh, dear….you’re not seriously thinking of doing that, are you!?” The voice of K-2SO’s spirit questions loudly. He appears right behind his two leaders, much to only Cassian’s surprise, while Jyn isn’t startled one bit.

 

“Yes…” Jyn quietly whispers to herself so Cassian could not hear.

 

“What? What is she thinking about?” Cassian asks in confusion, looking at K-2SO for answers.

 

K-2SO shakes his head as he angles his face towards the floor. “Now that answer is clear and convincing, this time. How dare you, Jyn Erso…”

Jyn then forms a mischievous smile on her face. “Yes, it is…” She mutters through barred teeth.

 

Cassian repeatedly switches views between K-2SO’s spirit and Jyn, much to his frustration. “W-WHAT!? WHAT IS IT!? What did Jyn say?”

 

Cassian takes a very long moment to try to put the pieces together. Remembering that he saw C-3PO a few minutes ago, and his resemblance to K-2SO, and Jyn’s deep thought, Cassian eventually finally realizes what Jyn is planning…

 

Cassian shakes his head and yells loudly.

 

“OH, NO….!”


	16. Clear and Convincing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (Sorry, K-2SO fans! I just had to! LOL!)

**Chapter 16: Clear and Convincing**

“No….no, no, no. You couldn’t possibly do this! Not to K-2SO!” Cassian yells out as he follows Jyn out to the main hangar, where the Rebel pilots and infantrymen were servicing the X-Wings and Y-Wings for the upcoming patrol duties. Apparently, Cassian was shocked and furious when he realized what Jyn was planning to do earlier in her quarters.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Captain.” Jyn says calmly while keeping on the mischievous smirk as she continues walking towards the front opening of the hangar.

 

“Jyn!” Cassian screams behind her as he moves to the side to allow a couple of Rebels carrying some crates pass by.

 

Cassian realized that Jyn’s intention was to travel to an Imperial encampment and procure the exact same security droid that they had, and reprogram it with K-2SO’s digital memory and protocols.

 

In other words, Jyn wanted K-2SO’s revival.

 

Or, ‘reboot’, in that sense.

 

“You…y-you are being reckless again, Jyn.” Cassian comments behind her as they approach a new, freshly built U-Wing with blue stripes, which indicated that it was built for the Captain after its destruction in Eadu.

 

“I know.” Jyn smirks as she climbs aboard.

 

Yes…

 

Reckless.

 

One of the words that described Jyn Erso’s personality and behavior. Her ethics seemed to gain her a reputation amongst the other Rebels by now, and Cassian knew her well enough by now that she is indeed a reckless twenty-one-year old youngling. Whether he wanted to stop her or not, it frustrated him just being dragged along into whatever mess the former criminal could get herself into, and out of. Maybe this was the kind of woman Lyra Erso was too…

 

“Jyn, I find this a bit disrespectful to K-2SO. Even he would feel it is. Replacing him just…..just does not feel right to Rogue One.” Cassian tries to reason with his Sergeant. He never understood her mentality nevertheless. “Even though he was just a droid, he was….h-he…he was my best friend! He was like a brother to me!”

 

Down on one knee, Jyn held out her A180 pistol and examined it for any abnormalities. “At least getting a new K-2SO will get us half of Rogue One again. Right?”

 

Cassian thought for a moment. Perhaps she was right. “True…I-I guess so…I hope you know what you’re doing, Jyn. You’re about to take us into another war zone, and you’ve got a knack of getting yourself into a lot of dirty situations. I’ve read your records.”

 

Jyn scoffs and looks up at him after holstering her A180. “Then you’ll just have to trust me again, Captain Andor.” Then, she gives him a dirty smirk.

 

Cassian sighs and steps onboard into his new U-Wing, and then he mutters quietly under his own breath. “How did I end up with this little girl…?”

 

Jyn immediately stands up and turns to him with a face that gave the _‘You will pay for that!’_ expression. “What was that!?”

 

“Nothing.” Cassian mumbles innocently, turning away to hide his face.

 

A few minutes later, a voice calls out to them nearby. It appears to be Luke Skywalker, dressed in an orange Rebel pilot uniform. It looks as though he wanted to say something important, but he just appears casual. “Captain Andor!”

 

Cassian and Jyn focus their attention to Luke, who has such an innocent face.

 

“Mr. Skywalker. Good to see you.” Cassian says with a small smile as he leans against the door of his U-Wing.

 

“The Red squadron and I are just about prepared for orbital patrol around Yavin. I just wanted to let you know that we’re ready to take off at your command.” Luke informs his superior as he stands upright with chest puffed out like a real soldier, further reinforcing his appearance to his Captain.

 

Cassian chuckles and looks away into the hangar, where he momentarily watches some pilots chattering near their X-Wings. “My command? Yeah…then you’re cleared for takeoff.”

 

“Yes, sir.” Luke replies. “So, you have some duties of your own?” He asks, noticing that Jyn and Cassian were preparing for some destination he wasn’t aware of.

 

The two Rogue One members look at each other, with Jyn giving Cassian a facial expression that meant don’t let anyone know about their secret agenda. “It’s just something that Jyn and I must handle on our own. This is Rogue One business. We’re inseparable, if you haven’t noticed by now.” Cassian lets out a small laugh.

 

Luke smiles and nods. “May the Force be with you, Rogue One.”

 

Cassian nods back. “And may the Force be with you, young Skywalker.”

 

Luke begins to walk away when Jyn looks down at her glowing kyber crystal necklace. It was giving off a strong sense of the Force, most likely due to Luke’s presence. Somehow, Jyn felt that Luke is the key to something bigger, a matter much more than just shooting Stormtroopers and destroying space stations. Out of politeness and respect, Jyn grasps her kyber crystal in one hand and calls out to Luke.

 

“Thank you!” Jyn calls to him. This catches Cassian attention, and he looks at her.

 

Hearing her words, Luke turns around to look directly into Jyn’s green eyes from twenty feet away. Their eyes lock stares for a very long moment; it’s as if gratitude was being appreciated through the air. Luke knows exactly what Jyn is thanking him for. All that Luke does is smile at her and nod before continuing to his X-Wing.

 

“So now you have a heart.” Cassian remarks as they both turn their attentions back to the interior of their U-Wing. Jyn scoffs and shakes her head just as she hops into the pilot seat on the right.

 

Suddenly, K-2SO’s spirit appears right behind them just as Cassian hopped into the pilot seat on the left, usually where K-2SO sat. K-2SO speaks out to both of them. “I can’t believe you’re about to do this! This really is clear and convincing…”

 

Cassian scoffs when flicking on some switches on the ceiling. “Well, we could sure use another Imperial security droid in our unit.”

 

The spirit of K-2SO shakes his head. “Captain Andor, I thought I was the only droid you ever cared about?”

 

Cassian sighs in frustration as he begins the liftoff of the U-Wing. “Well, you were the most annoying one…”

 

“Oh, dear…” K-2SO mutters in dismay as he looks down at the floor of the cabin.

 

Jyn gives Cassian a vicious mean glare after hearing his remark to their deceased security droid.

 

K-2SO then remembers the day they were in Jedha City…

 

K-2SO blurts out. “I should’ve slapped you harder.”


	17. Replacement

**Chapter 17: Replacement**

_“Replacement”_

_1800 hours_

_Rogue One_

_Sgt. Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso_

_Imperial local encampment, (Fictional planet of…) Yucoban_

Rogue One arrived at an Imperial-conquered planet, the Yucoban, that they suspected to have an adequate amount of security droids that K-2SO originally was. Cassian was careful to land the U-Wing far enough from the Imperial encampment so they were not detected. It was just the two of them, after all, and they were going to do this quick.

 

Cassian puts on his blue jacket with its white fur collar, then holsters his A280-CFE blaster pistol. “There’s plenty of them here. We’re just going to grab one, and get out. We don’t have reinforcements with us, so we’re not going full on attack here. Understand?” He eyes Jyn to make sure she followed his instruction.

 

“Yes, sir.” Jyn calmly replies with a deep, but serene tone after she wraps her long gray scarf around her neck, and the rest of it hangs down behind her back.

 

It was about a ten-minute walk into the encampment. It felt just like Jedha City: civilians and alien humanoid entities inhabiting the area, Imperial troops and droids patrolling the perimeters, and a melancholy, gloomy setting. It was like déjà vu.

 

Before Jyn and Cassian begin to come out of an empty alley way and into the main streets, Cassian grabs her wrist, immediately catching her attention. She looks up at him with determined eyes, and it is a clear message that she is listening.

 

“Remember what I said. Blend in.” Cassian whispers quietly to her, to which she nods and covers her head with the scarf.

 

The two Rogue One survivors proceed to walk into the filling streets of the slums-like premises, walking along with the flow of traffic and being careful not to accidentally bump into any Imperials. As Jyn and Cassian look around, they observe that the conditions there are worse than what they had seen in Jedha. The place looked filthy compared to Jedha, people were ruder to each other, such as pushing and shoving when walking past each other, or making horrid remarks, and it looked as though there was no signs of some form of rebellion.

 

This encampment is heavily influenced by the Empire, and it has taken total control of this particular area, possibly the entire planet of the Yucoban.

 

And they treated their locals horribly and cruelly, by the looks of it.

 

Cassian quietly whispers to Jyn as they turn a corner. “This place is already giving me the creeps. I knew this was a mistake.”

 

Jyn ignores his statement and moves past a tall humanoid creature. She then whispers back to him. “Are we not the best Rebels in the Rebellion?”

 

Cassian sighs in frustration as he follows Jyn from behind. Up ahead, he can see a couple of Imperial security droids walking along the street.

 

 _‘K-2SO!’_ was the first thing that came into Cassian’s mind. But, he forgot that his beloved security droid was destroyed.

 

After turning into an alley way & making their way through it, they eventually come up to a large, four-way intersection where a group of Stormtroopers were dealing with some civilians who apparently had a commotion with each other. Jyn and Cassian notice that one of the Stormtroopers brutally beat one of the people in the head with his baton.

 

 _‘This damned Empire needs to be brought down!’_ Cassian thought in his own consciousness. Seeing cruel acts like that fired up the hatred Cassian had for the Galactic Empire. Speaking of hatred, Cassian notices from the corner of his eye that Jyn’s fingers almost reach for her A180 blaster pistol. Luckily, Cassian grabbed her wrist, preventing her from equipping her weapon and blowing their cover.

 

Suddenly, the two Rebels hear a pair of robotic voices behind them. As they turn around, they glance at each other’s eyes before focusing their sights on two things that brought small smiles to their lips: two Imperial security droids conversing with each other. Jyn knew instantly that seeing them made Cassian a little bit happy, since a security droid was basically K-2SO.

 

Jyn and Cassian decide to stand against the wall of a nearby building and observe the situation.

 

“That’s eight prisoners captured so far today. They were fighting over what appeared to be nothing but supplies.” One of the droids says.

 

“Who knows how many more will be imprisoned? They were right about this place. It wreaks of filthy, undisciplined, stubborn people.” The other droid horridly remarks.

 

“I am going to report these captures to the officer.” The first droid declares before turning to walk away down the small Imperial transport vehicle up ahead.

 

“Affirmative.” The second droid replies. Now, it is left alone. It then begins to walk towards a discrete, empty alley way that is positioned away from the big crowds. Jyn and Cassian saw this as their opportunity.

 

“Now’s our chance. Go!” Cassian whispers in command. In a flash, they reach the alley of which the security droid entered through. Luckily, the droid hasn’t turned its back, so they took this opportunity to strike.

 

“Now, Cassian!” Jyn mouths the words silently.

 

And with one strike, Cassian stuns & incapacitates the droid with his electronic disabler rod. The droid’s internal systems instantly shut down, and the droid begins to fall to the floor like as if it fainted. But luckily, Cassian catches the droid in-time before it could hit the ground, which would draw unnecessary attention.

 

“Okay, how do we get him out of here!?” Jyn asks while kneeling down next to Cassian.

 

“I’ll drag him and say he malfunctioned, and needs to go to repairs.” Cassian says, believing he planned the right thing at the top of his head.

 

“REBELS SIGHTED!” A robotic voice rings out from the other end of the long alley. Unfortunately, another security droid happened to spot them, and recognize them, as it walked near the alley. And now, Rogue One’s cover is blown.

 

Jyn immediately takes out her blaster and shoots a single blaster bolt into the droid’s head, dropping it instantly. Her heart was beating rapidly, her blood was flowing, the fear was building, and the adrenaline was flowing, all at once, all at that instant. The female Rebel looks at her Captain wide-eyed.

 

Cassian looks up at Jyn too with wide eyes, and he did not hesitate to give the command. “GO! BACK TO THE WING!” He yells out loudly, since they were already alerting the Stormtroopers and security droids to their presence.

 

((()))

 

Blaster bolts dart right at Jyn and Cassian from behind as they near-miss it by turning a sharp corner out of another alley way, and they impact the walls of a building. Jyn leads the way through the streets, with Cassian treading behind as fast as he can, with the disabled security droid on top of his shoulders; the weight reduced his speed about a quarter of his overall full speed. Jyn pushes and shoves everyone blocking their way, causing the civilians to yell at them angrily as they run away.

 

“To the right, to the right!” Cassian yells to Jyn, confirming the way that they came from.

 

Jyn turns right and leads the way, but a Stormtrooper appears just several meters away. Before he could raise his assault blaster, Jyn fires at his torso a few times, ensuring that the bolts penetrated and dealt enough damage to kill him; and she did it successfully. “Come on!” Jyn yells, running into another street full of people. Both panting heavily, they continue sprinting down the long main street where the entrance to the encampment was near.

 

From the right, a Stormtrooper pops out all of a sudden and attempts to knock Jyn out with the butt of his blaster. But, being the quick, strong, former criminal she is, Jyn whips out her truncheon rod and delivers a quick, hard strike to the trooper’s head, rendering him stunned temporarily.

 

“It’s just right there! Go!” Cassian screams and points at the exit.

 

The closer they got to the encampment’s gates, the more blaster bolts came jolting past them like rain. More and more Stormtroopers inside the camp were gaining their tail, but Jyn and Cassian were quick to evade the blaster fire and certain capture.

 

A few minutes have passed when they finally reach the U-Wing, where they hop into the cabin and prepare for the security droid’s extraction. The two Rebels were both heavily exhausted from their escape, and so they prepared the jump to hyperspace in to flee from the premises as fast as possible.

 

“Jyn, get us out of here! Come on!” Cassian commands his Sergeant as he lays down the disabled security droid on the cabin’s floor. Jyn nods and assumes the pilot seat instantly, obeying her Captain right away. She turns on the buttons and switches to activate the U-Wing’s engines and flight control; therefore, the ship starts hovering some two-hundred into the air.

 

Cassian stands beside the cabin’s sliding door, where he looks down at the entrance of the Imperial encampment. He can see that Stormtroopers were gathering at the gate, and were shooting at his U-Wing, with no shots being landed.

 

However…there appears something at the gate as well. It catches Cassian’s eye so easily because it stands out from the rest of the Stormtroopers. It is a person, not in body armor, but in a more formal uniform….

 

A white uniform.

 

With a white cape.

 

And black pants.

 

And gray hair.

 

Cassian’s eyes widen as he observes the figure, dressed in white, locked his stare with the U-Wing. Cassian felt as though his body depleted of energy on the spot, all of a sudden. He felt weak, and his heart rose to this throat, giving him the tightened throat feeling. He was shocked at who he has just seen.

 

The man in white looked very, very familiar…

 

Suddenly, Cassian frowns & furrows his brows in confusion when the man in white turns around to walk back into the encampment, but not before raising his hand to signal something to one of the Imperial troops.

 

“Huh!?” Cassian mutters.

 

Suddenly, the U-Wing’s incoming warning sound rings out of the pilot’s cockpit, catching Cassian’s attention towards the cockpit where Jyn is. Jyn looks around confusingly, unsure as to why it is making the loud beeping noise.

 

“What’s happening!?” Jyn exclaims as she gains altitude.

 

Cassian immediately refocuses his attention back to the gate below, and what he sees sparks fear in himself. A missile was launched from inside of the Imperial encampment, and it was headed straight towards them. Cassian shakes his head and does not hesitate to close the cabin’s sliding door.

 

“THEY LAUNCHED A MISSILE! GO JYN! GET TO HYPERSPACE!” Cassian screams at the top of his lungs.

 

Jyn took a little bit of time to set the U-Wing’s hyperspace bearings. “Damn it!” Jyn mutters in frustration as she flicked on a few more switches before, eventually, the hyperdrive sets its hyperspace traveling ability.

 

Cassian looks back, seeing that the missile is now catching up to them from behind. “ANY TIME NOW! HURRY!”

 

And all at once, a white flash appears in the sunset sky, and the U-Wing finally dashes out the planet and into hyperspace, avoiding the missile that was tracking them.

 

((()))

 

All was calm. It was silent because the U-Wing was traveling in hyperspace, and a bluish ‘void’ dashed past the windows. Cassian sat there, on the cabin floor, breathing rapidly while wide-eyed, much to Jyn’s concern. She heard him breathing the exact same way he breathed on the night of his nightmare, and she just couldn’t help but question him again. Standing up from the pilot seat, she walks right in-front of her Captain and kneels to him.

 

“Cassian?” She asks, with concern in her eyes. “What happened? Did we forget something?”

 

Cassian just looks up at Jyn with the familiar eyes of fear that Jyn knew. “I-I saw….him.”

 

Jyn frowns and gets closer to him, and she places a hand on his arm. “Who, Cassian!? Who?”

 

Cassian takes a very long moment to respond to her. His heart is a-beating. “…..Krennic.”

 

Cassian said it. It became true. Director Orson Krennic is indeed alive and in the flesh, just as Cassian saw & feared in his bad dream. He could not believe it, and Jyn as well. She stares off to the side in space, trying to process what Cassian just witnessed. Now, Jyn has confirmation that her family’s archenemy, Orson Krennic, is still alive, somehow.

 

But how was he still alive? Was he not killed in the Death Star blast on Scarif?

 

“Krennic…” Jyn mutters under her breath. The haunting memory of her mother’s death flashes in her eyes, and she instantly feels some bit of anger and vengeance rising in her blood, for she clenches a fist as tight as she can.

 

There were so many questions filling up in their heads that they want answered. But now was not the time. While Jyn kneeled right where she was, still thinking about Orson Krennic, Cassian eventually stands up and holds the Imperial security droid’s head in one hand, and then takes a small storage device out of his pocket that was about the size of a thumb. Then, he inserts the device into the back of the droid’s head, where he installs some kind of software.

 

“Erasing current memory…” Cassian mutters. “Reprogramming security protocols…” He whispers.

 

After several minutes of waiting silently, and impatiently, Cassian removes the tiny device and observes the reprogrammed security droid from head to foot. Cassian is unsure of what is going to happen. Was the droid completely changed? Was the droid still Imperial? Or was the droid going to attack him and Jyn? Cassian keeps his stare of fear at the droid, with his heart beating from nervousness and anxiety.

 

But Cassian sighs a big sigh in relief, because the Imperial security droid was Imperial no more. It is now one-hundred percent Rebel. The first words from the newly reprogrammed security droid pretty much confirmed that they had just ‘re-booted’ K-2SO back to ‘life.’

 

“Oh! Where am I!? Ah!” The new K-2SO exclaims excitedly and happily upon turning his head to see Cassian. “Captain Andor! I am glad to see you again! Wait….” K-2SO pauses for a moment, realizing where, and when, he is. “…Were we not in the tower on Scarif, trying to unlock the vault doors?” K-2SO asks, confused out of his digital mind. “Where are we? How did we get here all of a sudden?”

 

Cassian shakes his head and closes his eyes. Apparently, the device Cassian input into the droid’s head had the memories and digital protocols of K-2SO where and when he was last alive before he got destroyed, which was by the vault door controls in the archive tower on Scarif. Cassian simply just brought back K-2SO’s ‘consciousness’ in another Imperial security droid that looked exactly like him.

 

K-2SO looks left and right, switching views between Jyn and Cassian. Both of them look confused and exhausted. K-2SO also notices they are traveling in hyperspace. K-2SO is now confused as well. “Something happened. What happened?” He asks. But neither of his two Rogue One teammates replied.

 

Now, half of Rogue One existed at the very least; they knew that they couldn’t bring the other three members back. But then there were questions that needed assessment, and those questions were about the very man that almost killed them in Scarif, the very man that killed Jyn’s mother and used her father as a tool, the very man that was now haunting their consciousness and Cassian’s state of mind:

 

Orson Krennic.


	18. An Enemy Reborn

**Chapter 18: An Enemy Reborn**

_Rebel Base, Yavin 4_

The U-Wing slowly descended to the ground below, right in front of the main hangar, and upon landing, the only surviving half of Rogue One gloomily vacates it and slowly make their way inside the base. Jyn nor Cassian did not have the urge to speak to each other, even K-2SO. The one thing that caused their intertwining silence was Cassian’s witnessing of Orson Krennic, the Imperial Director of the Galactic Empire’s weapons division, and it was already haunting Cassian and Jyn. His nightmare finally became real after all, unfortunately.

 

“Everything looks untouched! I’m so glad the Empire did not discover our base after our recent mission.” K-2SO comments to try to break the silence between them. “Speaking of recent mission, how is it that I’m still alive? Care to explain, Captain Andor?” K-2SO increases his walking speed a little bit faster to catch up to Cassian.

 

“I reprogrammed another droid with your memory, end of story.” The shaken-up Intelligence Officer briefly answers for K-2SO as he leads Jyn to the elevator.

 

Allowing some Rebels to pass before entering the elevator, K-2SO stands between his two squad mates as the elevator closes and makes its way to the top floors where the command center is. During the ride, K-2SO repeatedly shifts views between Jyn and Cassian, neither saying a word since the return trip from the Yucoban. He was growing utterly curious. “Did we win the battle?” K-2SO asks out of nowhere, referring to their mission on Scarif.

 

Annoyed twice as much than earlier already, Cassian answers immediately for him by countering with a question rather than a simple statement. “What does it look like?”

 

“I’ll take that as a yes. Though, I haven’t seen the others…” K-2SO looks up at the ceiling, wondering where Baze, Chirrut, and Bodhi were. Cassian and Jyn glance at each other, with Jyn shaking her head slowly with a face of secrecy. Cassian got her message clearly: she didn’t want them to let K-2SO know their teammates’ fates. K-2SO was still very clueless about what went down at the beaches during and after the three of them entered the archive tower in Scarif. Jyn signaled Cassian that it was best not to let their reprogrammed friend know the truth. Who knows how hostile and enraged a former Imperial security droid could react if provoked.

 

It wasn’t long before they reached the command center, and the key people of the Rebellion they saw in the center holographic round table appeared before them: Mon Mothma, Leia, Luke, and General Draven. They were about to smile in response to their arrival, but they kept concerned looks as they notice Jyn and Cassian’s faces mirrored theirs.

 

A few minutes passed, and the Rebels were already well into the conversation.

 

“What do you mean Director Krennic is still alive!?” Asked Princess Leia, wide-eyed and shocked at Cassian’s report.

 

Cassian shakes his head, trying his best to put together words. “I saw him….in my nightmare. And it became real. He was there at that Imperial camp. I saw him! I swear!” He almost yells much to everyone’s surprise. Jyn nudged Cassian in the leg to let him know not to overreact, especially to his superiors, his leaders.

 

The three leaders, and Luke, all exchange looks of worry and concern, for the silence between them loomed so much it’s as if Cassian was talking to himself in the command room. Mon Mothma decides to break the silence and keep the conversation going. “Our official reports indicate that Director Orson Krennic of the Imperial weapons development division was killed in action by the Death Star blast on Scarif.”

 

Jyn looks at Cassian for a response. “B-But I saw him! He ordered one of his troops to shoot our ship down. We were lucky to get out of there in time and bring back this….” Cassian points at K-2SO. “…this piece of junk.”

 

K-2SO raises his arms and shakes his head. “Captain, damn it! What’s with you!?” He exclaims loudly. Jyn sighs, but a part of her did want to release a small laugh.

 

“I-I don’t know how he is still alive. But he is.” Cassian declares before letting his head hang so that he is staring straight down at the floor. Feeling his anxiety, Jyn gently places a hand on his lap, trying to comfort him a bit.

 

Leia and Luke exchanges looks for a moment. They both got a clue of exactly how Cassian and Jyn were feeling about this incident. Luke knew Cassian’s fear and anxiety. He felt it through the Force, inside the Death Star’s trench section, right before one of the TIE fighters could get a shot at his T-65 X-Wing. Somehow, he felt a very strong feeling through the Force at that moment after the TIE fighter was staggered away by Han’s intervention. Luke felt like as if he knew who that specific TIE fighter pilot was, and that’s what was worrying him lately. Yes, Luke did indeed feel what Cassian felt. “Captain Andor.” Leia catches his attention so that he focuses back on her. “The man you saw. He was wearing a white Imperial uniform, correct? White Cape? Gray hair?”

 

Cassian nods in assurance and no question.

 

The three key leaders all nod in agreement before Mon Mothma dismisses her three Rebels. “We will investigate further into Director Krennic and his current operations. Captain, please have full confidence that you have our support, and keep faith in us.” Cassian nods while eyeing Mothma directly in the eyes, showing his confidence and confirming her assurance. “Dismissed.” Mothma dismisses her three Rebels, and they exit the command room.

 

With Mon Mothma, Leia, Luke, and Draven left in the room, they still exchange concerned looks with each other. Though, it was just one man, they, too, feared the future actions of Orson Krennic now that he is still alive.

 

“If Director Krennic did not die in the Death Star blast, then how…” Leia starts off, but is cut off by Draven.

 

Draven speaks out with a serious look. “It doesn’t matter. Krennic, just like Galen Erso, is a vital key to the Empire’s galactic imperialism and weapons management & production. The longer that man is alive, the longer the Rebellion will endure the Empire’s fear. All Director Krennic is best at is advanced weapons development, and we don’t know if he is currently in the process of constructing a new supermassive weapon or not.”

 

Luke gives it some thought. “At least he is furious now that I destroyed his space station.”

 

Mon Mothma shoots Leia and Luke an assuring gaze. “Our clock’s ticking faster than time itself.”

 

“Captain Andor seeing Director Krennic again has already shaken him quite much. Maybe we should ground him and Sergeant Erso from infantry operations for the time being.” General Draven suggests, to which Mon Mothma nods in agreement.

 

Leia then speaks in. “You know, I can tell that just by talking to Captain Andor and observing his eyes…” She pauses for a moment, feeling all three pairs of eyes on her urging her to finish her sentence. “…that this sighting changed his mood so quickly and so negatively.”

 

Luke looks down at the floor, acknowledging Cassian’s flaring emotions. “I hope he and Jyn will be okay.”

 

Leia turns to Luke with a face of determination. “We need to get forces out there immediately and gather more details about Krennic’s intentions. The sooner we do, the sooner his future operations will halt.”

 

“I’ll get right on it!” Luke says before jogging off and exiting the command center.

 

Mon Mothma shoots General Draven a serious and very worrying gaze. “It will be just a matter of time before the Empire starts destroying more Rebel planets. Next thing you know…they will come back here to Yavin 4, and vanish us along with this entire planet.”

 

((()))

 

Outside the command center, Jyn and Cassian were still clueless as to what to do at the moment. All they could was stand around and try to figure out questions that kept popping up in their minds. Jyn turns to Cassian and observes his anxious figure; though, she, too, was anxious about the entire thing.

 

“Cassian…” Jyn softly whispers so that only he hears her. “Are you….okay?” She asks while touching his arm.

 

Cassian didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to think. The sight of Orson Krennic physically abusing Jyn in his nightmare kept replaying in his eyes. He felt angry, yet very scared at the same time. He didn’t want anything to happen to her, to his Sergeant, to his partner, to his squad mate, to his twenty-one-year-old girlfriend. It wasn’t long before he finally replied to her. “Yeah…I guess.”

 

“Well, I’m off to take a nice, clean wash.” K-2SO blurts out, then jogs to the staircases.

 

As the elevator dinged and opeed its doors, Jyn entered it by herself and tells Cassian. “I….I need to clear my head…” She says in such a way that catches Cassian sudden attention. He eyes her directly in her green stardust eyes. “Meet me in my quarters tonight, Cassian. Please.” Jyn says before the elevator doors close.

 

Cassian replayed the way she said ‘ _Please’_ in his head a few times. For some reason, this made him curious, because she said that in such a way that she sounded like she was about to cry, like as if her voice began to choke from emotions piling up in her veins, causing her throat to tighten. Cassian was worried about Jyn, just as she was about him.


	19. A Rebel's Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (I have read the novels Catalyst and Rebel Rising, and I managed to learn Jyn’s background and history. I will be referencing several things from Rebel Rising, written by Beth Revis, which was published May 2, 2017. The references from Rebel Rising are indeed canon. Get ready for a very long conversation between Jyn and Cassian…And, in case you were curious about the flashback section: yes, it is canon according to the novel Rebel Rising.)

**Chapter 19: A Rebel’s Past**

“Hey, Jyn. I’m here. What do you want to talk about?” Cassian asks when he enters Jyn’s quarters as he promised earlier when she requested him at the elevators.

 

It was later, in the evening, and Jyn was roaming around the Rebel base, her head full of thoughts and mixed emotions. She didn’t know what to think, but if she did come up with the right words, she would be nervous however. And that was exactly how she felt at that moment when Cassian stood in front of her, gazing into her beautiful forest green eyes that had the so-called stardust. She didn’t smile; she just stared up at Cassian with a serious face.

 

“Jyn…what is wrong? I’m not sure if you are okay. I know we’ve both been quiet earlier, which I understand. But you called me in here in private, so…” Cassian shrugs.

 

However, Jyn did not hesitate to start the mysterious conversation…..

 

“Cassian…” Jyn says in such a soft voice that she sounds like she is whispering, despite only the two of them present in her quarters with her door locked shut. But she only says her Captain’s name.

 

Cassian tilts his head to the side curiously. “Yes?”

 

After not hearing anything from her, he is beginning to worry and getting creeped out. “Jyn, what?” He asks, raising his voice a little to make her speak out loud. And he is successful in doing so. She finally talks.

 

“C-Cassian….have you ever felt…..true pain?” Jyn asks all of a sudden.

 

This surprises Cassian greatly, because this is an unusual question that he has never heard from anyone, let alone from Jyn. “Uh…what do you mean?” He widens his eyes slightly, showing his seriousness in the matter. Jyn does not answer him again, so he pushes on. “Pain from the death of my parents when I was a child? Yes, Jyn, I know what it feels like. Um….why are you asking me this?”

 

“No, Cassian.” She answers, and she turns away from him so her back faces him, and she faces the opposing wall. Her arms are crossed, and her head angles downwards so that she appears to be staring down at the floor. “I mean, true pain. A life full of all kinds of…..pain.” She almost whispers, though, her voice sounds shaky, which catches Cassian’s attention even more. He didn’t like where this conversation was going, but he urged himself to keep listening to Jyn.

 

“Jyn…” Cassian mutters, knowing something is bothering Jyn.

 

“I’ve had my parents taken away too, Cassian. I saw them taken away…in the blink of an eye…just like that, with my very own eyes.” Jyn feels her eyes stinging. She begins to feel tears rising into her eyes. “But do you know what it feels like to be left behind, Cassian? Left behind by someone you trusted your life to?”

 

Cassian is getting confused now. “Um…J-Jyn…what is all this!?”

 

“We may be soldiers for the Rebellion, Cassian. We kill Imperials. ” Jyn continues, but this time her voice trembles. “…But could you ever bear to witness death every day?”

 

Cassian shakes his head and takes a step closer towards Jyn’s back, and he frowns. “Why are you talking like this!?”

 

Jyn shakes her head and keeps her back facing to Cassian, and this causes him to stop walking towards her. “I’ve been taught survival. I’ve been taught to kill in so many ways. I trained. I followed orders. I met strangers who I doubted were my friends or not. I’ve witnessed death worse than you’ve probably ever saw…it’s terrible, Cassian.” Jyn could feel a tear leaving the duct in the corner of her eye.

 

Cassian wanted to say something back to Jyn, but he was beginning to gain interest in her monologue, and so he kept silent and listened.

 

“I’ve been hurt from the feeling of wishing my parents came back to me, but never did, and I lived every single day coping with it…but it still hurt. Then he….” Jyn said the word _‘He’_ right as a tear trickled down her cheek. She could feel the emotion, hurt, conquering her heart. “….he left me….he left me to….die.”

 

Cassian tilts his head to the side, wondering who she is talking about. “Who, Jyn?”

 

“Saw. Saw Gerrera.” She answers, with a hint of hatred in her voice. “I remember that day…I was fifteen, completing some heist against the Empire…but they attacked us. He was injured and told me to hide. The last thing he did was leave me with a blaster and a knife.” Jyn closes her eyes as more tears were about to burst from her eyelids.

 

Cassian stays silent.

 

“I was left alone. I’ve been alone since, Cassian…” Jyn felt the tears now: they fell like rainfall. Her hurt, her pain was beginning to take over her. “Do you ever know how it feels to be treated horridly by random strangers all day, every day, no matter how unfair and hurtful it is, Cassian? I’ve seen terrible things with my own eyes, Cassian….I was only a girl, but it all seemed….normal…to me. Thinking back to it…I don’t know how I was able to live like that.”

 

For once, the Intelligence Officer feels his heart sink, and he gulps. His mind imagined everything that Jyn said, and he already did not like it by the time he started imagining horrid, absurd things that happen in war.

 

Jyn wipes a few tears off her face and continues, with her back still facing Cassian. “Have you ever wondered how…terribly boring it is to….to sit in a room and alter Imperial codes all day long, just for someone else’s benefit? It felt like exactly what I became: a prisoner. All this time, I’ve been living a crime.” She admits with much regret. Jyn felt more tears flooding her eyes and rolling down her face, but she decided to just let them flow. Cassian soon felt a feeling that he never wanted to occur: he felt some pain. Emotional pain. Jyn continues speaking. “I’ve had no home, Cassian. Since the day Saw left me, I’ve had no home to go to, no home to look for. All I was, was a drifter: constantly moving anywhere I felt that was safe from the Empire because no one was to know who I truly am. The only home I found was….” Then, Jyn remembered something, or someone, perhaps, the moment she stopped in mid-sentence. She held the thought, and went on. “I was all alone, Cassian…for six years, never knowing what to do, who to trust. No one was ever coming back for me. All my life…has been a deception. The people around me, deceiving me for their own gain. I despised that…but somehow I managed to live through the hurt.” Jyn was now sobbing out loud. She didn’t care that she was, because she allowed her mind to speak itself to the twenty-seven-year-old man behind her that she called her boyfriend.

 

“Somehow….I survived. I’ve been beaten by many. I’ve beaten them back. I’ve seen people who suffer under the Empire. I’ve been a prisoner of the Empire for half a year while being treated brutally by them. I survived with what little I had. I’ve been used. Abused. But somehow, I still survived all alone, just a girl.” The twenty-one-year-old female Rebel mumbles her words just as tears reached her trembling lips. She sniffles, and Cassian urged himself to comfort her, but it was as though his legs froze, like as if his legs didn’t want him to go anywhere but listen to Jyn.

 

Finally, Jyn turns around to face Cassian. Her eyes are reddened from crying, her tears leave wet streaks along her face, her tears slide down her cheeks, and her lips are quivering from the sadness inside her. It is at this moment that Cassian truly saw all of Jyn’s pains and hurt being released from within her, right in front of his very eyes. He wanted to embrace her, tell her everything will be alright. He wanted to plant the desperate kiss that would save the day. But he still couldn’t at the moment.

 

“Have you ever clung to hope, but it never came your way, Cassian? I’ve tried.” Jyn stares into Cassian’s chocolate brown eyes through teary, blurry vision despite the stinging pain of the tears on the surface of her eyes.

 

Cassian felt his lips quiver. “But…you gave your Rebellion hope. A new hope, to a peaceful future.”

 

Jyn ignores Cassian’s reply, and continues speaking what her mind wanted. “The reason I’m telling you all this, Cassian, is because….” Jyn can feel the emotions rising up to her throat. Her voice cracks, her voice tightens. “…..now that Orson is still alive, I don’t want anything to happen to you!”

 

Jyn sobs the tears fully.

 

And it struck Cassian like a blaster bolt: the sympathy and the guilt weighing on his shoulders.

 

There was a very long moment of silence between them looming around the air in Jyn’s room before Jyn continues speaking.

 

“When I first saw you in the command room…all I could ever think about was….” Jyn pauses because she feels her heart rising to her throat. Her voice cracks as she says the words that finishes her sentence. “….how much you reminded me of….him.” Jyn covers her face with both hands, crying tearfully, and her hands catch her tears.

 

Cassian’s eyes widen, and his legs finally enable him to approach Jyn and place a hand on her shoulder. “Him? Who are you talking about, Jyn? Jyn, please…” Cassian asks, but the tone of his voice indicated that he was now getting very emotional. He wanted to cry with his lover. He wanted to sympathize all day for her.

 

Jyn continues crying for a long moment.

 

“Jyn…” Cassian says impatiently, feeling his eyes starting to release his own tears. He never liked seeing Jyn sad. He didn’t want to see her in pain, nor anyone else. He didn’t like to hear the sounds of pain and cries from his Sergeant.

 

“Hadder.” Jyn mutters under her breath just enough that Cassian is barely able to hear the name. But he didn’t want to have Jyn repeating words, so he accepts her reply and just watches her sob. But then, Jyn looks up at Cassian through her tears and places her bare, un-gloved hand to his cheek, and she gazes directly into his eyes that boosted his full attention. “You look just like Hadder…”

 

((()))

 

_Flashback_

_5 years earlier_

_A few months has passed since the sixteen-year-old Jyn Erso took up refuge in the Ponta’s residence after Saw Gerrera abandoned her upon failing their heist on planet Tamsye Prime. Akshaya Ponta allowed Jyn to live with her and her son, Hadder Ponta. She was in the planet Skuhl, a planet that is thought to be hidden from the Empire’s reach. For the past few months, Jyn spent most of her time either alone or with Hadder._

_Jyn and Hadder were in the plains, in broad daylight, just the two of them alone. They had a picnic._

_“’I’ve been thinking of joining a group that fights the Empire.” Hadder says. If there was anything that Jyn expected, it was that. “What do you think?”_

_“Why are you asking me?” Jyn eyes him with concern._

_Knowing that she was a freedom fighter, or a rebel, Hadder wanted to get her opinion. “I’m asking what you think.”_

_Jyn pretended not to care. “Do what you want.” She says._

_All his life, Hadder was very passionate about flying ever since his father died when he was young. He wanted to be a pilot in whatever rebel force opposed the Empire. But no matter what, Jyn wanted him to stay. She didn’t want him to face the pain that she felt when she rebelled with Saw Gererra. A recruiter was in the town’s bar trying to recruit Hadder into his rebel force, and he tried to get Jyn’s opinion. “There was someone I met at the diner. He was putting out feelers for people who may want to fly.” Hadder explains._

_Jyn’s face showed dismay, and she drew away from him. “Fighting the Empire is about more than flying…”_

_Hadder closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against hers. The kiss startled her, but it felt natural, as if they’d been doing it for years. Then, he finally pulls back from the kiss. “If you’re not going, then I’m not going. I’d rather have you than the chance to fly.” Hadder confesses to Jyn faithfully._

_Jyn could feel her heart rise to her throat. She thought she felt a tear in her eye. “I can’t take that away from you…” She says in what almost sounds like a soft whisper with a hint of sadness._

_“And I can’t take myself away from you.” Hadder declares. He kisses her again, harder, and she could taste the longing within him, the feelings he’d tried to keep in check. She returns every passionate, gentle kiss he laid on her lips. She strokes Hader’s black shoulder-length hair, then she wraps her arms around his brown-skinned neck while deeply persisting with the kisses. She understood why he’d wanted to take her outside the town and away from their home to say THIS, to do THIS. They could be honest out there, under the open sky, in a way they never could with a roof over their heads._

_They could pretend they belonged to forever just as much as they belonged to each other._

_((()))_

_Flashback_

_Some months later_

_Jyn was devastated. She was shocked. She was mad. And she was also sad, mostly. She had every reason to hate the Galactic Empire. The Empire began to take over their town, their home. They weren’t looking for the Pontas. They were looking for her. She was the target._

_Right when the Stormtroopers busted through into the Pontas’ home, Jyn escaped through her bedroom window, and escaped in an airspeeder with its own hyperdrive. The plan was for she and the Pontas to escape in separate aircraft through hyperspace and away from Skuhl, where they could avoid the Empire’s grasp. But, unfortunately, Jyn was the only one to make it out of there._

_And what she realized had broken her forever._

_Hadder and his mother, Akshaya were blasted away inside their freighter ship in mid-air accidentally by a rebel Y-Wing trying to dogfight an Imperial TIE fighter._

_((()))_

Cassian finally realized who Jyn was referring to. Before him, she also had a lover. Her first true love: Hadder Ponta. And for Jyn to tell Cassian that he reminded so much of Hadder made him feel broken as well. He could understand why she was crying, breaking down right in front of him. He finally felt what pained her the most. He knows that pain hurt her ever since, but he felt partly proud that he was the man to fill the open void in her heart and continue to occupy it for life.

 

Cassian now embraces Jyn tightly with both arms, and rubs her gently, comforting her as much as he can. He could feel tears leaving his eyes and rolling down his face. He feels what she feels now, and he sympathized. He rests his cheek on top of Jyn’s head. They stayed embraced for a very long few minutes, with only the sounds of Jyn’s sobs filling the room.

 

“I miss him…so much…” Jyn whispers, her voice muffled from her face buried into Cassian’s chest. Cassian understands, and he gently rubs her back as the embrace lasts for a couple more minutes.

 

After a long while, Cassian pulls away from the passionate hug and looks down into Jyn’s forest green eyes. Jyn returns the gaze, and her tears continue to flood her eyes. She hyperventilates, which accompanies her crying.

 

Suddenly, Jyn proceeds to remove all of her clothing, letting every single bit of clothing fall to her feet, so that everything except her mother’s kyber crystal necklace were on the floor. Her slim, short body revealed an abundancy of scars and burns all over her torso and limbs from incidents encountered in the past. This frightens Cassian, but also makes him slightly angered at the sight of it.

 

“Can’t you see, Cassian? I’ve been through hell!” The naked twenty-one-year-old woman almost yells loudly, her lips quivering after she had spoken those words. And all Cassian could do was stare at her, admiring the beauty of her sobbing face. But in his head, he was summing up everything Jyn said about herself and what she’s been through. Yes. His girlfriend has been through rough hell worse than he’s been. He stares at the scars and burns on her body. It was very obvious.

 

“I’m just as dangerous as Orson…or even the Emperor.” Jyn says coldly, with more tears trickling down her face. “What if I did end up doing something horrible to you, Cassian?”

 

Those words struck Cassian again, this time harder. He felt his heart sink, and he felt the urge to deny it. “No. No, no, no. That will never happen. I promise you, Jyn. You’re not as evil as they are. We know that.” Cassian explains to Jyn and consoles her; he comforts her by placing both hands on her shoulders, and they lock gazes into each other’s eyes. “We’ve all lost someone, and something, that we love. But Jyn…” Cassian rubs the tears away from Jyn’s face. “…you can’t let the past haunt you. The past doesn’t have to make you a horrible person in the present, Jyn.”

 

Jyn’s hyperventilating breaths gradually comes to a halt, and she listens to her Captain closely through wet eyes.

 

“What matters the most is the present. You don’t let the past make you a horrible person. You let the past prevent you from becoming one, and change for the better, the future. The past doesn’t matter.” Cassian tells his Sergeant, rubbing her face softly with a thumb, and then brushing one of her side fringes behind her ear. “All that we’ve done in the past…led us here together. I don’t care what you’ve done in the past. I only care about you, and who you chose to be since we met.” Cassian tries his best to form a small smile with his lips. “Stardust.”

 

Jyn’s lips wanted to form a smile from those caring and comforting words, but they couldn’t. She was flattered and touched, though.

 

“Jyn, the true home…” Cassian touches her chest where her heart is. “…is where the heart is. You choose your home. And…I think it’s fine to say that the Rebellion is your home. Our home.”

 

Jyn’s heart is struck by emotion and feelings of joy. Home is where the heart is. Jyn knew that her true home was Cassian, the man she truly loves. She is proud to have a man who accepts her for who she is. Despite continuous waves of tears releasing form her eyes, Cassian keeps rubbing them away just so that he could smile at the sad, but beautiful face in front of him. “I love you, Cassian. You...have no idea how much I truly do.” Jyn declares in a grateful tone.

 

She lunges in, planting passionate kisses on Cassian’s lips. It was a very strong moment for both of them, and they could feel the power of the Force working around them. Cassian notices that Jyn’s kyber crystal necklace begins glowing. Cassian embraces Jyn’s naked body gently. The naked female body in front of him is all that he truly, passionately cares about. After all the rough things she has done and that she has been through, he realized that throughout her whole life, a rebel was rising in her up until the day they met. Her body may be scarred from her experiences, but to Cassian, she is beautiful to him, in the inside and outside.

 

Jyn looks up at Cassian with her sad face, and mouths, “I love you,” quietly.

 

Cassian smiles at her and whispers out loud. “I love you more.”

 

Since their resurrection, Jyn didn’t have to be alone anymore. There came a man who would care for her, love her, be with her, protect her, and fight her battles with the Empire with her. Jyn knew that Cassian is the one, the true and rightful love of her life. Her soulmate. Her partner. Her other ‘half’ that she would be with for an eternity.

 

“Everything will be alright, Jyn. We will take down Orson Krennic, again, this time, together. Just trust the Force.” Cassian assures Jyn, repeating her mother’s last words to her. Jyn nods while she buries her wet face into his warm chest, with her eyes closed.

 

Unbeknownst to Jyn, Cassian’s eyes are open as he held naked Jyn in his arms, and he notices from the corners of both of his eyes blue glowing auras: glowing auras that were from the Force spirits of original K-2SO, Chirrut Imwe, Baze Malbus, and Bodhi Rook. The four deceased Rogue One members stood around their two live teammates, watching their Captain embrace their naked, crying Sergeant.

 

Then, they huddled into a group embrace as well, with Jyn and Cassian in the middle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: (According to Rebel Rising, Jyn does get injured from burning debris, and she does get physically beaten by some strangers all over the galaxy, so I decided to have Jyn inherit scars and burns on her body, since she pretty much lived a rough, lonely life as a teenager. There are a couple of instances in the previous chapters where Jyn appears naked to Cassian, but no scars or burns were mentioned. So, I implemented them in this chapter.)


	20. Desperate

**Chapter 20: Desperate**

 

“Yes. Yes, affirmative. Have those units set up strong defense perimeters around those convoys. The surveillance equipment must be protected at all costs, and we cannot afford to lose a single one.” Captain Andor says thru his commlink as he is sitting at his desk in his office, advising the intelligence units sent to other star systems that were on the lookout for Imperial forces. It was a usual task that Cassian handled daily, hence his rank of Captain and title of Intelligence Officer.

 

“If any Imperial troopers get past any one of our units, this base will be compromised before you’ll know it. Stay alert.” He commands with a mighty, confident, determined voice.

 

“Yes, sir!” One of the leaders of the Rebel units responds before cutting off communications.

 

Cassian sighs and shuffles some papers in front of him, and sipped on his morning tea as he skimmed through a couple of pages containing reports of Rebel cargo and operations in nearby planets. A couple of minutes in, his mind begins to doze off. And when he does, his eyes shift around his desk, left to right.

 

And they land on a photo of Jyn that he kept on his desk, contained inside a white metal propped-up frame. It showed Jyn standing in the main hangar with her arms crossed, looking out to the aircraft grounded near the front hangar entrance. Apparently, the base’s journalist snapped the photo that day, and Jyn’s back was facing the camera. But at least it showed part of her face and her side fringes. Luckily, the journalist was nice enough to give Cassian a copy of the photo of Jyn, to which he happily accepted instantly.

 

And whenever Cassian gazed at the photo, he couldn’t help but find her slim & short figure attractive. Cute.

 

Cassian takes another sip of his tea and begins typing on a document on his computer when suddenly his office’s doorbell rings.

 

“Yes?” The Captain calls out towards the door.

 

No answer.

 

“Hello? Who is there?” Cassian calls out again.

 

Still, no answer.

 

He sighs and gets up from his chair, lazily walking across the room, and when he reaches for the buttons next to the door to open it, his mind was already predicting. It could be…

 

Jyn.

 

And K-2SO standing behind her.

 

This catches Cassian by surprise, as he was sure that Jyn had work to do during the regular day in the Rebel base. But, nevertheless, he was always happy to see her, whether she was doing her job or just sitting around doing nothing.

“Jyn! Hello. Are you feeling okay?” Cassian greets and asks her.

 

However, she does not say a thing. She looks as though she is sad. She gazes up into Cassian’s eyes with nothing to say at all, because she is silent. Because of this, Cassian feels concerned, and he wanted to embrace her and comfort her.

 

K-2SO looks at Cassian, then at Jyn, then back at Cassian again. “She wanted me to come along. I asked why. She did not say. She just walked off immediately to your door. So, here I am.” K-2SO’s robotic voice informs the Captain as he nods in response.

 

“You can come in. I was just doing some work.” Cassian says. He remembered what went down last night: Jyn’s long vent about her past. It was a long night, alright. Cassian thought to himself that it was one of the best feelings ever to sympathize for Jyn, to comfort her and hug the frustrations and fears out of her inside soul.

 

And the part he loved best?

 

Embracing his young Sergeant as she leaned against his chest with no clothes on; only her kyber crystal necklace around her neck remained, and the emotional tears streamed down her smooth white cheeks from her forest green eyes.

 

Though, Cassian never had a relationship to any other Rebel like that, he was glad he had it with Jyn.

 

“I was going to go down for lunch in half an hour, so…” Cassian says, but his sentence trails off when he suddenly feels the pair of soft lips pressing against his lips, and arms wrapping around his neck.

 

Jyn immediately pinned herself against her Captain, kissing him with her arms wrapped around his neck. She did it out of nowhere, and it caught Cassian by surprise.

 

“Uh…Mmmm.” Cassian moans as he attempts to return the wave of kisses bombarding his lips.

 

They could hear a couple of male Rebel soldiers walking and chattering at the end of the long corridor, but they ignored them and continued with their ‘usual’ routine.

 

As Jyn pulls away from the kiss, she looks up at him though thin sheets of tears. Her heart was in emotionally sharp pain, and it was pounding more rapidly by the minute. She wanted Cassian, badly. She wanted to bond with him the way they always do. She needed it right there and then. Cassian opens his eyes and looks into Jyn’s green stardust eyes; they became mesmerized from the beauty and the increasing emotions he sensed in them. After a few seconds of silence between them, Jyn is able to form a small smile with her lips through the tears in her eyes as she locked her stare into Cassian’s eyes.

 

And Cassian received the message instantly. He knew the 21-year-old Rebel well enough already to know what goes on through her reckless mind. She didn’t need to speak. She was already showing him. That was their way of communication to each other, their special method of bonding with each other. And Cassian knew he was going to feel great later.

 

“Well, come on in, Sergeant Erso.” Cassian whispers loudly, with a wink and a smile as he begins to step backward into his office, pulling Jyn along.

Jyn begins to unbutton his beige long-sleeve shirt, and eventually exposes his bare muscular top half as his shirt falls to the floor. She then pushes up on her toes to reach up and plant more deep, passionate kisses on Cassian’s face due to her short height and his tall height. The 27-year-old Captain smiles and wraps his arms around Jyn’s waist as he reciprocates her kisses.

 

K-2SO, on the other hand, stares at his two superiors. He watches them for a very long moment, watching them trade kisses, breaths, and moans.

 

“Umm….” K-2SO mutters. He shifts his head towards the floor, then back up at the sight of Jyn & Cassian making their love to each other. It was that moment that he finally realizes why Jyn wanted him to come with her to Cassian’s quarters on the 8th floor.

 

“I’ll just stand here and keep watch…” K-2SO mutters as he pushes the button on the keypad next to the automatic sliding metal door of Cassian’s door to close it. The security droid whistles as it stands guard outside Cassian’s quarters on the corridor of the 8th floor.

 

With Jyn and Cassian alone in the room, they get close to his bed. She buries her face into Cassian’s chest and embraces him, to which he embraces her as well.

 

Jyn came to him this instant because she was desperate: desperate for his love, desperate for his presence.


	21. Something in Common

**Chapter 21: Something in Common**

The 21-year-old former criminal stands there, in the vast crew lounge, holding her tray of food as she shifts her head & eyes left to right and vice versa. Apparently, Jyn found no one to sit with for lunch. Actually, she usually doesn’t find anyone to sit and chat with at the Rebel base on Yavin 4, given her reputation and criminal history despite sending the Death Star plans and miraculously coming back to life with her Captain, Cassian Andor. Though, Jyn never managed to make any other friends in the Rebellion other than Cassian, K-2SO, and possibly Leia & Luke. There were some female Rebels present too, but given her dark, rough past and her aggressive, cold personality, she felt she wouldn’t be able to socialize & bond with the other female Rebels, because she knows she isn’t like them. She knows she was still the lonely girl trying to find her place in this journey.

 

Luckily, she is able to find a completely vacant table that was isolated away from the other tables full of infantrymen, after minutes of searching. It was situated outside, under the sunny afternoon, and it was under a tree that provided shade, luckily for Jyn. Once she sits down, she begins to munch away at her food.

 

She had seen Cassian earlier in the morning, where he told her that he was going to go into a meeting with Mon Mothma, Princess Leia, General Draven, and the other superiors to discuss something important. He said it would take a very long while, so Jyn decides to spend most of the day by herself since she had no obligatory duties for the day.

 

“ _Same as always._ ” Jyn thought to herself quietly as she picked the fork at her food. “ _Oh, well._ ” She adds. She was picking at her food with one hand, and the other arm was bent so that her elbow leaned on the table, propping her cheek & head up. Jyn was bored.

 

However, she felt a strong feeling around her. Her kyber crystal started to warm up, and Jyn notices a blow glowing aura right next to her. Turning her head to see who it is, her lips form a slight smile when she sees the Force spirit of Bodhi Rook, her deceased Rogue One teammate, sitting next to her. However, despite his appearance, she still felt lonely without Cassian around.

 

“How’s our little sister?” Bodhi asks, referring to Jyn, who was called sister by Baze Malbus before their raid on Scarif. He tilts his head to the side, curious about what was going through Jyn’s mind.

 

The reckless, undisciplined female Rebel sighs a long sigh after turning back to her food. “Nothing, I guess.”

 

Although, Bodhi nodded and accepted her answer, he nevertheless didn’t believe she was fine. So, he shrugs his shoulders and looks out into the distant dunes of trees below the balcony. “You know, I was just like you. You know…” Bodhi starts to explain, causing Jyn to gulp down some food and look at him. “…while I was still with the…..the Empire.” He finishes. Jyn nods and still gazes at him, urging him to continue. “I wasn’t always exactly happy with the way things were….or how I turned out.”

 

“That’s why you joined…us.” Jyn declares, and Bodhi nods as in ‘ _Yes_.’

 

“Well, not only that. But I’m glad I did. It was Captain Andor who found me.” Bodhi states, still looking into the waves of trees in the distance. Jyn looks up at the sky, reflecting back to their time in Jedha when they were captured. ‘ _The cell, perhaps._ ’ Jyn thought. But that is where Rogue One started, right there and then.

 

“You know, Captain Andor really goes for you, you know?” Bodhi blurts out after a long moment of silence. Thus, Jyn immediately looks at him with her stale, cold green eyes, and she is curious as to why he is bringing up Cassian.

 

“Yeah..?” She replies vaguely.

 

“He would go to the ends of the galaxy for you, it seems. I’ve seen the looks on his face when he sees you. Even when he hears your name, I sense the hint of happiness that I’ve never seen from him before.” Bodhi declares, and he finally turns to her to inspect her facial expression.

 

Jyn suddenly turns her head back to the trees, thinking of Cassian. Because, now, she feels as though she couldn’t breathe if Cassian was not within an arm’s length around her. Whenever they parted for some circumstance, even if they’re just separating to sleep in each’s own quarters, she felt the pain in her chest. She felt the anxiety on her shoulders. She felt the whole galaxy was weighing down on her.

 

“ Cassian. That is what is troubling you lately. Am I right, little sister?” Bodhi asks; though, he knows he is exactly right. He just wants to see if Jyn would deny it.

 

Jyn finishes the last of her food, gulps down a whole can of water, and leans her back against the table, silent. She just stays silent as her response to her deceased friend.

 

“You love him so much, it hurts. To…to think something will happen to him anytime. That’s where the fear is, yeah?” The former Imperial asks, nodding his head with the question.

 

Jyn still stays quiet, because she feels a tear about to burst from one of her eyes.

 

Bodhi looks down at the floor, then up at the sky. “I wouldn’t worry much. Both of you made it this far. Captain Andor would do anything he can to protect you and the ones he loves.”

 

“I hope you’re right.” Jyn mutters, sighing after shifting her gaze to the ground.

 

“Have faith, Jyn. The Force is with us.” Bodhi declares to Jyn as he places his hand on her shoulder. Though, she can’t feel his touch because of his spirit form.

 

“Thanks.” Jyn says. But as she turns to look back at Bodhi, he is gone.

 

((()))

 

Leia sighs in slight frustration as she walks out of the command center where the meeting took place. She hated long meetups as much as she hated Stormtroopers, and it already made her day aggravating. It was a few hours later, and she & the other leaders, as well as Cassian, just got done with their discussion of some Rebel operations going underway at the moment. The whole time, she thought of how Luke was holding up, since he was with an infantry unit in some planet out there as well. The Princess needed a break, and she definitely needed someone to chill out with.

 

Coincidently, and surprisingly, as Leia turns a few more corners of some hallways, she sees Jyn, who is commanding one of her base infantrymen under her command. Indeed, Jyn had her own unit to lead in the base. Her unit was doing inventory of weapon supplies, and she was in charge of making sure her men get tasks done efficiently. Leia smiles as Jyn ends her discussion with the young Rebel and part ways. Jyn then proceeds to walk towards Leia, who is also surprised to see her.

 

“Sergeant Erso!” Leia calls to her.

 

“Oh, Princess Leia. Hi.” Jyn responds with a hint of respect to her superior by slightly bowing & keeping her eyes glued to the floor. Much to Leia’s amusement, she shrugs off the act.

 

“No need for formalities, Jyn. Behave like you normally would. Please.” Leia chuckles.

 

“Umm…sure!” Jyn shrugs, feeling slightly embarrassed, since she still felt awkward about appearing to a superior of the Rebellion after being a former criminal for some time. Though, she realized it must take some getting used to from now on.

 

The two young women walk together, shoulder-to-shoulder down the long hallway while other Rebels walk past by. Leia walks steadily and calmly, with her hands behind her back and her white dress gliding along the floor with every stride, whereas Jyn walks with a sense of nervousness, letting her hands hang down both sides of her thighs and balled into tight fists. Leia is the first to spark the conversation.

 

“Enjoying your rest time, I see?” Leia asks.

 

Jyn, at first, was reluctant to answer. She gulps nervously before answering to her leader. “Pretty much, yes. How did the meeting go? How’s Cassian? Is he still in there?” Jyn asks away, much to Leia’s amusement. Leia knew that Jyn was very anxious about Cassian, and that she yearned to know what he was up to the whole day.

 

“He is fine! Don’t worry. He’ll be dismissed shortly, I assure you.” Leia laughs & answers Jyn, while Jyn just nods calmly, with a shot of relief rushing through her now.

 

“Princess?” Jyn says as they turn a corner leading to another hallway.

 

Leia looks at her Sergeant with curiosity, her eyes gazing at her, urging Jyn to speak out. “Yes, Jyn?”

 

“Why does this conflict…this war…have to go on?” Jyn asks Leia when her head hangs down, so that she is now looking down at the floor, dismayed. Seeing Jyn in a gloomy mood, Leia shrugs and tries to come up with something to say.

 

“The people have done this. They caused this war, and all the pain that came with it.” Leia explains. “That’s why the Rebel Alliance is here to keep the peace.”

 

Hearing that from Leia, Jyn begged to differ. She knew what she has witnessed in her past thirteen years of her life, and it was not pretty. “But all this has brought to me is pain, up until the moment Cassian and I came back.”

 

Leia shrugs and smiles a small smile. “Well, it’s not bringing you pain now.”

Perhaps, Leia is right, Jyn thought. Because she feels so close to Cassian, she cherishes him greatly, that she doesn’t feel pain from the effects of the Rebel operations and the Galactic War, but from the effects of being in love with Cassian and missing him whenever he isn’t by her side. “Oh…right.”

 

“War. Pain. Suffering. The inevitable. Conflict won’t stop itself. Question is, what do we do about it?” As she asks this question, both women stop walking and look at each other.

 

Hesitant for a response, Jyn says the first word that came to mind. “Fight. But….I feel like it’s not enough…”

 

Leia comes up with a better answer. “We protect the ones we love.”

 

And that brought a slight smile to Jyn’s lips, for a sense of hope and joy rushed up her spine. She looks at Leia.

 

“You see all these Rebels here?” Leia looks around her, while Jyn does the same. Many infantrymen walk by them at a faster pace. “They all have a reason to be here. They came here because fear conquered them. Now, they’re here because they are fighting for something. They may not know it, but I treat them all like they’re family. It’s my duty to protect them. If we can protect the ones we love, then we can protect the very thing that we all hope for in the galaxy.”

 

“Peace…” Jyn whispers loudly so that only Leia heard it. Leia nods and they continue walking down the hallway.

 

“I know how much Director Krennic’s surprising existence is troubling you and Captain Andor. He may be even more dangerous than your first encounter with him now that he has the ability to start more massive destructive weapon projects for the Empire.” Leia says, catching Jyn’s immediate attention.

 

“How is the intelligence coming along?” Jyn asks.

 

“Right now, we have units in other planets undergoing field operations, but we should have more information within the next few days. It won’t be long before we have another major operation. And you, Captain Andor, and that droid of yours had better be ready.” Leia informs the 21-year-old woman.

 

Jyn nods in response. “Right.”

 

Leia stops in her tracks, causing Jyn to stop walking too, and Leia turns to Jyn to face her. Their eyes gaze into one another’s, reinforcing the confidence and trust they had between each other. “Listen, Jyn. This war, and Krennic, is the only thing standing in the way between you and Captain Andor. The best you can do, the best anyone can do, is fight for him. Embrace him to the end. Jyn, if Captain Andor is really worth the universe to you, fight for him.”

 

Upon saying that, she places a gentle hand on Jyn’s soft cheek, and when she did, Jyn instantly felt a tear about ready to fall down her cheek. The statement was heartfelt and true and encouraging. Jyn couldn’t help but grab ahold of Leia’s hand and squeeze it gently, signaling to Leia that she absorbed the wisdom and encouraging words. Leia smiles at her 21-year-old Sergeant, for she knows Jyn is strong enough.

 

Suddenly, R2-D2 approaches the two young women from behind, catching their attention by making beeping noises. Obviously, it had something to say to them.

 

“What is it, R2?” Leia asks, bending down to R2-D2’s level. R2-D2 replies with some more beeps. “They do? Okay.” Leia stands back up and looks at Jyn. “Han and Chewbacca want me to meet them in the Millennium Falcon. You want to come?”

 

At first, Jyn is hesitant to say anything. Eventually, she plucks up the courage to accept. “Sure!”

 

“Also, R2-D2 says he needs some maintenance done. Do you know how to fix a droid?” Leia asks.

 

Jyn shakes her head and smiles slightly. “Maybe a thing or two.”

 

((()))

 

It was Jyn and R2-D2 alone in the center lobby of the Falcon, where the round table was. Leia, Han, and Chewbacca went to run a couple of errands while Jyn stayed behind to perform a few repairs on the small blue & white colored service droid that stood before her. Jyn sighs as she pulls out some old wires from inside one of the compartments on the main body.

 

“You’ve probably been through a lot, haven’t you?” Jyn asks with a hint of playfulness in her voice. She notices how the white and blue paint on the droid were faded out, compared to the vibrant colors on the newer service droids that she’s seen around the Yavin 4 base.

 

R2-D2 beeps a few beeps.

 

“So have I…” Jyn mutters, referencing her rough childhood.

 

R2-D2 makes a few high-pitched beeps.

 

“Oh, if you were human, you’d feel like hell too.” Jyn gently bangs the side of R2-D2’s dome-shaped head, causing it to chirp loudly. Jyn shakes her head and begins replacing new wires into the compartment she was working on. R2-D2 then beeps, asking another question. “You mean, K-2SO? Oh…right.” Jyn says, reaching into the compartment that held some of R2-D2’s tools. “He can be hard-headed.”

 

Hard-headed. No pun intended…

 

R2-D2 chirps in a way that indicated it is laughing about Jyn’s comment.

 

Jyn struggles to splice the wires, so she tries harder, shifting positions for a better angle. “What is it with you droids always getting shot at? It’s funny…how you and K-2SO attract so many blasters….but you never get shot, and K-2SO does. Huh….” Jyn wonders as R2-D2 beeps in amusement. “I wish I was that invincible.” Jyn mutters under her breath. It didn’t take long for Jyn to finish up the last repair on R2-D2 before sighing in relief.

 

“There you go. Happy? Ya slimy bugger.” Jyn playfully says, patting R2-D2’s head before standing up on both feet and throwing the wrench aside. R2-D2 beeps some more.

 

“You have something for me!?” Jyn tilts her head to the side, curious.

 

R2-D2 chirps.

 

Predicting that it’s a surprise, Jyn shrugs and nods. “Cool. I’ll wait upstairs.”

 

 


	22. Target Practice

**Chapter 22: Target Practice**

“Come on…anytime now, little bugger.” Jyn mutters under her breath as she paces back and forth in her quarters. Jyn had waited for a whole hour for R2-D2 to arrive, because it told her that it had a little surprise for her, much to Jyn’s surprise. She was getting impatient the more she waited, and she was about to head to the lower levels to do things other than wait around for the astromech droid. But, luckily, she sighs in relief of impatience & boredom just as her door’s bell rang.

 

“About time you showed up, mate.” Jyn says as she approaches the door and pushes the button that slides it open.

 

She is surprised to see R2-D2, C-3PO, and K-2SO standing right in front of her, right at her door. She shifts her eyes between the three friendly droids, who were staring at her with their “eyes.”

 

“Well, looks like I’m the popular one today, suddenly. Funny…” Jyn says in cold sarcasm as she steps aside so the three droids entered her quarters, though she leaves the door open.

 

“I’m sorry, Sergeant, but apparently K-2SO here has caused us a big delay of time due to the commotion he caused with some maintenance crews.” C-3PO explains the situation as best as he can; however, K-2SO suddenly looks at C-3PO and shakes his head, denying it.

 

“Oh, please! It wasn’t my fault they got clumsy with the crates! You just had to scare me out of nowhere from behind, and therefore making them drop those crates! I’m not the one to blame!” K-2SO exclaims, raising a hand. “Don’t make me slap you, tin man!”

 

C-3PO shifts his gold, metal body in a way that indicates he is reacting to the security droid’s remark. “Uh? Who are you calling tin man!? How rude!” C-3PO then turns to Jyn. “Sergeant Erso, your droid is being feisty and naughty!”

 

Jyn sighs as she rubs the side of her head, and then she turns around to move to the side of her bed. “Droids…” She mutters out loud, ignoring the verbal fight between the two human-like droids.

 

R2-D2 beeps to break the commotion.

 

“Ah, yes! Sergeant, R2 says that he has something for you. He brought you this.” C-3PO says as he points to an object wrapped in white cloth, which was being dragged by a winch originating from a compartment on R2-D2’s back.

 

Curious, Jyn approaches the object, tilting her head as she did. She wondered what it was that R2-D2 so suddenly wanted to give to her today. After bending down and reaching for it, Jyn slowly unwraps the cloth, round after round, until there was no cloth hiding the object no more. What she saw astonished her.

 

“What is this?” Jyn asks loudly while keeping her eyes glued to the big metal object she held in her hands.

 

“Supposedly, R2-D2 says it’s a configuration mod for a certain type of blaster. It fits right to the end of its barrel, and turns it into a fully automatic-firing assault rifle. Very convenient gadget, it is. R2-D2 found it in the armory this morning while searching for some supplies for your base unit. Apparently, he says it is the last one of several attachments produced for the Rebellion. We believe it could be a very useful asset for your personal arsenal, Sergeant Erso.” C-3PO explains as Jyn nods and accepts the unique gift, examining every inch of it.

 

“It’s much like Captain Andor’s blaster configurations.” K-2SO mentions while he watches Jyn.

 

Jyn remembers their time in Eadu, where Chirrut Imwe warned her about Cassian’s secret attempt to assassinate her father, Galen, with a sniper configuration of his blaster, as mentioned by K-2SO in that U-Wing. Jyn observes every inch of the mod: it is basically an entire assault blaster modeled after a standard A280C assault rifle, with a hollow region in its receiver for a blaster pistol to slide right in to.

 

“And now, I’ve got my own….” Jyn says softly, with a mischievous smile forming on her lips. “Thanks.”

 

R2-D2 beeps. Then, C-3PO responds back. “You are very welcome, Sergeant!” He then turns to R2-D2. “Hopefully, she doesn’t accidentally shoot us with that thing.”

 

Jyn scoffs as she turns around and begins walking towards her closet to store the rifle configuration mod away. “Me? That’s not what I’m worried about. It seems the Empire likes to use you droids as target practice.”

 

“What!? Oh…well, that is true, actually…” C-3PO confirms, confused at the thought at first.

 Indeed, the three droids were always getting shot at by Stormtroopers and hostile droids for some unknown reason.

 

K-2SO then steps in to say something that came to his digital mind….

 

“Well…those Stormtroopers sure do a good job at missing the targets.”

 

((()))

 

Later, in the early evening, Cassian had arranged for he and Jyn to meet up at the balcony located on the highest floor of the pyramid-like building. He mentioned that he just wanted to spend a moment alone with her that night, to be in her presence, to be so close to her like he always wants at every second of every day. It was his icebreaker for the long day he had in the command room’s meetings with the Rebellion superiors.

 

With Jyn standing by his side at the balcony, Cassian looks up at the night sky, with Jyn doing the same. They were staring at the billions of tiny, but shiny, stars in the pitch-dark sky, and, just like in Lah’mu, they named several stars with the names of their deceased friends & family: Rogue One, Saw Gerrera, and Jyn’s parents, Galen & Lyra. It is as though it is an obligatory thing for the two Rogue One members to do whenever they spent time together meditating their thoughts into the night sky.

 

As for Cassian’s enjoyment, he loved seeing the stars not only for them, but also because the stars reminded him of Stardust. Stardust: the nickname of his Sergeant, his 21-year-old lover, the young, brunette woman standing next to him, shoulder-to-shoulder. When he saw the stars, it was as though he was looking right into Jyn’s forest-green eyes, which were filled with stardust. Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso: Cassian’s biggest star.

After several moments of silence & looking up at the stars, Jyn begins to feel the emotions kick in. “Beautiful, aren’t they?” Jyn says, keeping her gaze up at the bright, twinkling, white dots in the black atmosphere.

 

Cassian smiles. “Beautiful. Just like you.”

 

In reaction to his clever & affectionate words, Jyn looks at her Captain and smiles. However, when she looks back up at the stars, her smile fades. “You know, Cassian, if you weren’t this lovable of a man, the pain would’ve been so much to bear for me.”

 

Hearing these strange words suddenly being heard from Jyn’s mouth, Cassian looks over at Jyn with a curious, blank face. He wonders why she was saying that about him. He also notices that Jyn’s face now looks saddened, and her eyes start to release little tears.

 

“It’s your ego that bridged the connection between us, Cassian. But the only thing tearing it apart…” Jyn sniffles as a couple of tears release form her eyes, while a couple other tears find their way into her nose, causing her to sniffle with her words. “….i-is your fear.” She finishes.

 

Cassian could rarely say anything back.

 

“If it’s just one man instilling your fear, your hurt for me, then I don’t know how we’ll be able to survive all of this..” Jyn shakes her head, then turns to face Cassian, with tears streaming down her face. The ‘one man’ she was referring to was Director Orson Krennic.

 

Cassian looks at Jyn, noticing her sad, tearful face. Cassian is able to understand what Jyn was trying to get at, but he knew she had a little bit more to say, and he needed more time to assess her words as well. He felt Jyn’s emotional distress, he felt her pain because they shared each other’s pain through their powerful connection through the Force. Though, he wanted to say something back, Cassian decided to let Jyn finish. So, Cassian just turns his head back to the stars.

 

After a short moment of silence between them, Jyn continues with trembling words. “Y-Your armor has w-weakened, Cassian…and the more armor that falls from your b-b-body, the more t-the fear and the p-pain will get to y-your heart. I cannot let you go, Cassian.” Jyn says, beginning to break to a sob. “But you need to let that fear go. It’s destroying you.”

 

Cassian gulps, feeling a bit of guilt weighing on him. Yes, she is right, perhaps. The fear of Orson Krennic alive, as well as his nightmare from that one night, was eating away at his faith in Jyn and those around him.

 

“We need to fight through this war. And I need you, Cassian. If only you knew what you could do with your little…your….” Jyn pauses for a moment, finding the right word to fit in. “….”your little beard…then we wouldn’t have to live by this terror any longer.” She finally finishes, staring at Cassian with her tearful face and tear-filled eyes.

 

Cassian thought about what she has told him. Looking at the white stars up above them, he found something to say that would set the mood between them. He looks at Jyn, and he leans in closer to her, much to Jyn’s confusion. Cassian speaks with a manly, confident voice.

 

“…That’s because you know what I can do with my little beard.”

 

And with that sentence sent to her ears, Jyn chuckles with a smile. Because she is now smiling, Cassian forms a small smile on his lips as well.

 

“And you know what I can do with my little blaster.” Jyn mumbles in a soft voice.

 

Cassian proceeds to wipe the tears away from her face and her eyes. He loved to see his lover’s face cleared away of sadness. She is beautiful to him both inside and outside. “Since the day we met, my love for you never diminished. If this war is to be my burden, our burden, worry not. Because, no matter what, Jyn, my armor will always be there. I’m your knight, and I will protect you to the end. No…not to the end. Always.”

 

Jyn smiles, but despite Cassian rubbing away her tears, new tears came back. She continues having her eyes locked with Cassian’s eyes, listening for more of what he had in mind.

 

“Whatever there is tomorrow, and the days after that, whatever is left of me underneath that armor…after the war, I’m all yours. I’m yours forever, and always. And nothing will break us apart, for my heart will mend and strengthen invulnerable then, for you.” Cassian completes his declaration by taking ahold of Jyn’s hand and holding it firmly, surging the confidence he had through to her.

 

Jyn then immediately reaches up to wrap her arms around Cassian’s neck, hugging him and burying her wet face into his chest. Feeling her tears soak into his shirt, Cassian smiles and wraps one arm around her, rubbing her back gently to comfort his loving, caring, faithful young Sergeant. They didn’t need to say ‘I love you.’ They already knew they loved each other from the very beginning. The Force meant for this to happen, because it set their destiny to be with each other. The love was hidden underneath their flesh; it was just waiting to be revealed when the right time came. Jyn knew that Cassian was going to be strong for her, for everyone now. She knew her Captain will have the mental strength to overcome his worries and his fears of Orson Krennic, the Empire, and the possibility of losing her to the Empire. Their honesty between each other is one of the major things that kept the two Rebels so spiritually close and intimate. It felt as though their co-existence with each other was natural.

 

After a long few minutes, Jyn and Cassian separate from the hug, and smile at each other, with both Jyn’s face & eyes now cleared of tears.

 

“Speaking of my little blaster, I wanted us to have a wee bit of a challenge.” Jyn says with a smile.

 

“Oh, really now? What can your little blaster do besides killing Imperials?” Cassian asks jokingly with a small wink.

 

“Let’s go down to the range, shall we?” Jyn says, beginning to walk away.

 

Cassian watches Jyn walk off into the long corridor. He looks down at the floor for a brief moment. Realizing what Jyn had in mind, he shakes his head and laughs before following her from behind. He is sure that Jyn’s got something up her sleeve, and he is eager to find out what it is.

 

((()))

Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO were in the shooting range, located in the rear of the Rebel base. Luckily, no Rebels were present with them, so they had the whole range to themselves.

 

“Target practice. You want to play this game with me, Sergeant Erso?” Cassian smirks, setting his A280 blaster pistol down on the small table.

 

“Scared?” Jyn says playfully, taking out her A180 pistol and checking its receiver.

 

“Oh, come on.” Cassian blushes.

 

Then, the two Rebels look over at K-2SO, who didn’t have a weapon on him.

 

“I’m sure you don’t need to prove your aim.” Jyn says, holding up her A180.

 

“You are right, Jyn Erso. I don’t need to show you my shooting skill. I’m a security droid. I shoot down troopers faster than you can blink an eye, I assure you.” K-2SO declares without argument nor question. Jyn and Cassian both know he is right. He threw a thermal grenade behind him, over his shoulder & killed a group of Stormtroopers, he fended off several Stormtroopers in the archive tower on Scarif, and he was able to chokeslam Jyn down to the ground when he captured her in Wobani so swiftly, she never saw it coming.

 

Jyn and Cassian shrug their shoulders, then approach the line drawn on the floor, which was about forty yards away. It was a good distance for blaster pistols, so all it would’ve taken to accurately shoot the dummy targets were their trigger finger skills.

 

“Ladies first.” Cassian insists, gesturing for Jyn to shoot first.

 

Jyn shakes her head and rolls her eyes at Cassian first before raising her A180 in front of her. As she lined up the iron sights with her right eye and the target forty yards away, she inhaled and exhaled. The deep, steady breaths were her ritual when accurately firing a single blaster bolt from a distance away. She remembered her training with Saw Gerrera when she was living with him at 14 years old: those blaster training sessions that he helped her through. She also remembers one mission that she executed with Saw and his group of rebels where she was the sniper ensuring the main target was dead. Bang. One shot, one kill, confirmed dead, from Jyn’s trigger finger.

 

After what seemed like a long tunnel of time passed, Jyn pulls the trigger. The red bolt of plasma energy zooms out of the barrel of her A180, and it hits the rib cage of the dummy target. She pulls the trigger several more times, and the shots landed around the chest area.

 

Satisfied with her shots, Jyn turns to Cassian with a dirty smirk. “Your turn, Captain. Try and beat that.”

 

Cassian scoffs and shakes his head as he walks past Jyn, and he steps up to the line. “My pleasure.” He says with a dirty smirk. Then, in an instant, the 27-year-old Intelligence Officer was spraying blaster bolts from his A280 pistol repeatedly and accurately on another dummy target, where nearly all of the bolts centered near the target’s head: far more accurate than Jyn’s blaster shots to her target’s chest. Very satisfied with his shots, the Rebel officer turns to his Sergeant with his pistol raised next to his face. “Good game, Sergeant.”

 

Jyn now gave Cassian an even dirtier smirk. “Oh, it’s about to be a good game…” Jyn says in a dark tone, much to Cassian’s confusion. “K-2, let’s finish it.” Jyn says, reaching out a hand towards K-2SO.

 

Cassian looks at K-2SO, then at Jyn, with much confusion. “H-Huh!?”

 

K-2SO digs into the bag he brought with him and takes out the assault rifle configuration mod that Jyn received from R2-D2 earlier in the day. Much to Cassian’s surprise, Jyn attaches the mod onto the barrel of her A180 pistol, turning it into a fully functional assault rifle blaster, giving it fully automatic rate of fire, longer blaster bolt range, and better accuracy at medium to long range. Jyn raises her rifle to her shoulder, and steps to the line.

 

“Configuration!? Hey, that’s chea-“ Cassian attempts to exclaim, but is cutoff when the sounds of Jyn’s blaster rifle rings out all over the shooting range. Red blaster bolts fire faster than usual, and Jyn focuses from target to target, relentlessly spraying blaster bolts all over the targets from her rifle. Eventually, her blaster rifle overheats with smoke emitting from the receiver, and as Jyn lowers her weapon, she sees that all of the dummy targets were all on the floor, shot to pieces.

 

It seems the Sergeant bested the Captain in this match.

 

“Good game, Captain.” Jyn repeats Cassian’s words with a dirty smirk.

 

As Jyn walks past him to put her blaster away, he is wide-eyed with his jaw dropped open as he looks back at the targets downed on the floor. The moment he saw the results of Jyn’s gun performance in front of him, he instantly knew that Jyn really put in her recklessness and her aggressiveness. Jyn was a dangerous, reckless young woman. It made Cassian eerie. But that dangerous woman can also be used against the Empire, again, and he needed her for that.

 

Knowing who the winner of the little competition really is, Cassian sighs and holsters his blaster pistol.

 

((()))

 

The two Rebels are heading to the upper levels to prepare for bed, for it is late into the night. It was a long day, and Cassian could sure use it after all those long hours in the command room. As Jyn followed behind Cassian down a long corridor on the 1st floor of the Rebel base of Yavin 4, a fellow officer appeared from the opposite direction. Cassian waves at the officer and shakes his hand.

 

“Hey! How was your shift?” Cassian greets the fellow officer.

 

“Meh, tiring. I can’t wait until I’m moved to another base.” The officer says gloomily.

 

Cassian scoffs. “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad. You know, the…”

 

All of a sudden, Cassian’s voice trails off, as if the sound of his voice is fading away to silence. This is in Jyn’s head. At that moment, Jyn is zoning out, because she felt a great force coming from a nearby room behind her. It felt so strong, she believed that it was some kind of force calling out to her and urging her to come to it. As Jyn slowly approaches the double doors, she notices the sign next to them read ‘Waste Room.’ Curious, she slowly pushes open the doors and enters. Darkness is all that engulfed the room, so Jyn flips on the light switch to make the room visible. The first thing she sees instantly is old junk everywhere. “Ugh..” Jyn mutters as she continues walking towards the source of the force pulling her in.

 

Eventually, Jyn reached a pile of boxes where she believed the unknown force was originating from. But why here? Why was this junk room calling out to her? Why did it want her to come to it? What was it? It must be important, Jyn thought. The female Rebel proceeds to dig under & behind the boxes, until what she found astonished her so greatly.

 

What lay behind the pile of junk and boxes is an old, silver cylindrical object with gold engravings. And right next to it is something that Jyn got wide-eyed about: a purple kyber crystal. The purple glow of the kyber crystal is strong and bright. Jyn picks up the silver slim object and the purple kyber crystal, and she examines the crystal. It is small: about the same size as the clear kyber crystal she wore around her neck. Then, Jyn finally figured it out: the silver object was a hilt held with two hands, and the purple kyber crystal was small enough to fit inside of it.

 

Jyn finally realized.

 

“ _I-Is this….a lightsaber!?_ ” Jyn thought. Now she figured out why the calling force was so strong in this room. But she had yet to figure out why it was only calling her, though.

 

But how did these get here? Why are these here in this waste room in this Rebel base? Jyn was growing very curious by the second.

 

Suddenly, the doors open, and Cassian calls out to Jyn. “Jyn? What are you doing?”

 

Staying quiet for a brief moment, Jyn stows away the hilt inside her brown vest, and turns around to exit the waste room with Cassian. “Nothing. Just thought I needed something…”


	23. A New Ability

**Chapter 23: A New Ability**

Jyn’s eyes couldn’t shift anywhere else, because her gaze is fixed on the old silver hilt and the purple kyber crystal on her desk. Jyn stands there, right in front of her desk with her arms crossed, with her brain searching for possible answers as to why the lightsaber was abandoned and disassembled underneath a pile of rubbish. Jyn kept thinking hard for clues, but no luck. The broader question Jyn kept wondering was: Who did the lightsaber belong to? Jyn had yet to figure out the mystery behind it, though, there was a likely chance she wouldn’t ever solve the question. Jyn had heard stories about the Jedi when she was a little girl, back when she and her parents were settled in the care of the Galactic Empire sometime after the end of the Clone Wars.

 

But, at least what mattered is that she scavenged parts of a lightsaber from one of the most unusual of places.

 

A thought came to Jyn’s mind: the base did have a technology & weapons laboratory in the upper floor of her pyramid-shaped building. If she could just spend some time there trying to build & repair the lightsaber, she could develop herself a new weapon to her arsenal.

 

But was Jyn suitable for that type of weapon?

 

She wasn’t really Force sensitive. She was no Jedi. She never trained in the Jedi arts, because she didn’t have that strong enough of the Force within her. She couldn’t levitate objects at will. She couldn’t tap into people’s mind with Jedi mind tricks. Though, she was one with the Force after her death. However, Jyn could feel the Force surging through her completely, especially when she was by Cassian’s side all the time.

 

“ _You don’t have to be a Jedi to hit someone with a lightsaber._ ” Jyn thought, looking up at the ceiling with her fingers rubbing her chin in deep thought.

 

Yes, that is true indeed. A non-Jedi, like Jyn, Cassian, Leia, and many others, could easily pick up a lightsaber and hold it in their hands, as any other Jedi would easily & simply do so. The only difference, Jyn figures, is that she didn’t have Force powers to use in the offensive against enemies. But it was alright, Jyn thought, because it wasn’t like she was anything special. She was just a regular person, just like Cassian and all those other Rebels in the entire Rebel Alliance.

 

Perhaps, she could just have a lightsaber with her for extreme situations.

 

Suddenly, Jyn feels a strong force surrounding her. She could feel it so well that she knows what was about to occur. She closes her eyes and takes deep, subtle breaths, breathing the tension out of her system. And before she knew it, she opened her eyes to find the Force spirits of her parents, Galen & Lyra, standing in front of her.

 

“Mother. Father.” Jyn says, with a slight smile.

 

“Hello, our dear Stardust.” Galen returns the greeting with a small smile of his own.

 

“We see you’re holding up pretty well with this Rebellion.” Lyra says, scanning her eyes on Jyn from head to toe. She has her hands crossed in front of her waist on the red sash she wore with her brown & beige robes.

 

“It’s much better than prison, for sure.” Jyn says cleverly, lifting one of the sides of the brown vest that she wore over her gray jacket.

 

Galen and Lyra both chuckles as they look at each other. They’ve watched from the afterlife how Jyn adjusted to life as a Rebel on her own, with Cassian as her man, her partner. And they were happy to see that. “That’s good, sweetheart. That’s good.” Galen says, before his smile fades.

 

And Jyn notices, so her smile fades as well, because she knows her parents were about to have a conversation with her.

 

“We sense a great deal of fear and worry in you, Jyn. It’s troubling you lately, and it has something to do about Captain Andor. Correct me if I’m wrong.” Galen declares, keeping eye contact with his young brunette daughter standing before him.

 

And Galen knew it, because Jyn turns away to break from the eye contact to face the other direction. Galen and Lyra look at each other with concern, then focus their attention back to their daughter. “I’m scared for him…” Jyn says.

 

Lyra takes a step forward. “And we’re scared for you. Both of you.”

 

Jyn then turns to face her parents again, with her hand on her hip. Lyra continues on. “We’re here to tell you that you don’t have to be afraid. Your family will protect you, and they will do everything in their power to do the best they can for you and Captain Andor. Believe me, Jyn. Be strong for him just as I was strong for you and your father.” Lyra tells Jyn, looking at her husband with a small smile.

 

Jyn nods to acknowledge & absorb her mother’s words of comfort.

 

“But we’re also here to tell you to be careful, because we feel something deep, and something big, will be coming the Rebellion’s way in the future.” Galen warns, much to Jyn’s concern. She takes a couple of steps towards her parents.

 

“Why? What will happen, father?” Jyn asks as she frowns.

 

“I don’t know, but I sense that it is something terrible. Far more terrible than my creation.” Galen says. He now looks down at the floor in dismay.

 

Jyn looks down at the floor, dismayed as well. “More terrifying than….the Death Star…?” Jyn whispers quietly to herself.

 

“Jyn, whatever happens, Orson must be a priority target. And I know how personal this is for you & Captain Andor. Don’t let the darkness cloud your faith, Stardust.” Galen finishes.

 

Jyn then shifts her attention to her mother as Lyra approaches her. Jyn raises her hand, and Lyra grabs ahold of her hand, even though Jyn isn’t able to feel her mother’s physical touch.

 

“Trust the Force, Jyn.” Lyra tells her daughter. “May the Force be with you…” Lyra says with a smile as she and Galen fade away.

 

Jyn tries her best to keep her emotions stable, because she wants to vent out the anxiety and worry out of her body now. She paces back and forth in her quarters, shifting her eyes from the floor, to the lightsaber hilt & kyber crystal, and vice versa repeatedly.

 

Suddenly, Jyn could feel that her chest was burning hot. “Ah!” Jyn exclaims. She looks down and sees that the kyber crystal she wore around her neck is glowing very bright, and it is warming up. Jyn could feel a strong force looming the air in her room. Her heart keeps a rapid beat. Her breaths become shallower. Somehow, her mind keeps shifting from distress to tranquility, and back. She didn’t know what was happening to her.

 

But after a long moment, Jyn could feel something very strong in the room, and it was coming from behind her. A very bright purple glow came from her desk.

 

Jyn’s eyes widen, and she gasps loudly at what she sees.

 

((()))

 

Cassian is in the lower floors, helping a few Rebels store away a shipment of crates containing food & supplies in the storage area. But Cassian jumps unexpectedly when he hears his commlink go off on his wrist. It was Jyn calling out to him loudly.

 

“C-C-Cassian! Come up here, now! Hurry!” Jyn yells, sounding distressed.

 

With confusion and worry rushing in him, Cassian’s eyes widen as he brings his commlink wrist bracelet to his mouth and responds. “What!? O-Okay! I’m coming!”

 

The Intelligence Officer excuses himself to the other Rebels and swiftly runs to a nearby elevator.

 

Eventually, Cassian arrives at Jyn’s quarters, where he examines the room. And when he sees that it’s only Jyn, he sighs a big sigh of relief as he rests a hand on his abdomen. “What’s wrong, Jyn?”

 

Jyn stays silent for a brief moment to gaze into Cassian’s chocolate brown eyes. Cassian stares at her, waiting for a reply. “Close the door.” She whispers to him. Unsure as to why she is being secretive at this moment, hence her whispering and her urgent call, Cassian pushes a button on the wall-mounted control pad behind him to close Jyn’s quarters door, and he approaches her so that they were an arm’s length from each other. “Cassian….watch this.”

 

Cassian furrows his brows in curiosity as they both turn to face Jyn’s desk. Jyn’s A180 hand blaster lay on the surface of the desk.

 

Just out of nowhere, the A180 pulls right in to Jyn’s gun holster strapped to her right thigh by an invisible entity.

 

Jyn turns to face Cassian, and she gazes up at Cassian into his brown eyes, trying to search for whether he had approval or disapproval. Cassian’s jaw dropped, and he was wide-eyed, because he was both amazed and confused by what Jyn had done.

 

Jyn has just discovered a supernatural ability.

 

Cassian looks down at Jyn in confusion. “Y-You….the Force….how!?” He asks, struggling to develop a stable, clear question.

 

“I’m not a Jedi, Cassian. But I think I have the Force in me.” Jyn tries to explain while keeping her forest-green eyes locked with his chocolate brown eyes full of confusion. “I was speaking with my parents’ Force ghosts. Then, I was able to do…that.”

 

Cassian could do nothing but stay silent and try to assess what he has just seen from his young 21-year-old lover. After a brief moment, he asks away. “….How long?”

 

Jyn blinks, gathering the courage to explain to Cassian. “When I was a little girl, before my mother was killed…she gave me the kyber crystal necklace. You know, the thing that brought us back. She always told me to trust the Force. But, mostly, I never believed in it until our raid on Scarif. I don’t have Jedi powers, Cassian. At least, not right now. But, I can only lift things at will, and I hope it is just only that.”

 

Cassian still didn’t have any words to say. He places his hands on his hips and turns away from Jyn, placing his thoughts elsewhere. Jyn gets worried about what Cassian was thinking of her. Was he thinking that she was keeping this from him all this time? Was Jyn going to become more dangerous than she already is now that she has this Force ability? Or was Jyn going to be safe with her secret power and use it for offensive means?

 

Was it going to affect their relationship?

 

Cassian sighs a big sigh of relief, and he smiles. Because, no matter what, he accepted Jyn for who she was, what she was. He believed that nothing will ever change his love for her, even though if it was just a Force ability that Jyn developed out of the blue. He knew it could help both of them in the battlefield. Cassian turns to Jyn.

 

“Cassian…?” Jyn asks his name, with her eyes still gazing up at him with concern.

 

From his powerful, unconditional love for Jyn, Cassian places one hand on her cheek, and wraps the other arm around her waist. He locks his eyes with the forest-green eyes that was searching for his approval of her. “I don’t mind a little Force.” He says softly & happily.

 

Jyn’s heart aches in a way that it releases all the tension built up in her system, and she sighs relief through her nostrils. She wraps both of her hands around Cassian’s hand, which rests on her cheek, and she presses her cheek firmly against his hand in an affectionate act. Her eyes close, for she is relieved that her Captain accepts her Force ability and that he has faith in who she is, and in what she has in her.


	24. Infiltrators

**Chapter 24: Infiltrators**

Jyn twirls the wrench in her hand, humming a tune while watching Cassian load things into their U-Wing. They are outside of the hangars, where they have a clear view of the tall, enormous pyramid-shaped structure in front of them. Cassian knew they were getting close to finding out what the Empire’s next move is, and he took the liberty of prepping their U-Wing ship with the necessary field supplies. Though, only Cassian was doing the task himself, while Jyn just sat on the metal crate behind him, twirling & staring at the wrench in her hand.

 

“I always wondered why you like this ship.” Jyn mentions after a couple of minutes. Cassian turns to her after wiping a drip of sweat off his brow, and he shrugs his shoulders.

 

“I just like it, okay?” Cassian replies instantly, raising his voice slightly. Jyn tries her best to hold in a laugh because she knew Cassian was becoming stressed in the heat of Yavin 4’s weather that particular day, and he wanted to complete the tasks as soon as possible.

 

“There’s got to be a reason why, Captain.” Jyn says, trying to aggravate him further to her amusement.

 

After throwing a bag of medical supplies into a small storage compartment in the cabin of the U-Wing, Cassian swiftly turns to Jyn with an annoyed face. “It looks good. Is that good enough!?”

 

Jyn laughs as Cassian sighs in frustration. “Whatever you say, Cassian.” Jyn says, though she knew Cassian had more reasons to like the U-Wing.

 

Cassian now lays on the ground flat on his back, so that he can get a clear view of the underside of the U-Wing. Noticing some errors that need to be fixed, Cassian points to the toolbox that is next to Jyn. “Can you hand me those pliers?”

 

Grabbing the pliers from the toolbox and holding it up, Jyn pauses for a moment. “…..Magic word.” She then says, biting her lip to try to hold in a laugh.

 

Cassian clenches a fist, for the frustration was building up already. “PLEASE.” He says loudly, indicating his seriousness.

 

Jyn couldn’t help but let out the chuckle, and she hands Cassian the pliers. “So…have you ever flown in one of those things?” She asks, turning her head towards one of the fighter aircrafts just about yards away from them.

 

Wondering which aircraft Jyn is referring to, Cassian pulls out some bolts & nuts from under the U-Wing before glancing at her a quick moment. “Which one?”

 

“That one.” Jyn points at the starfighter. It is a gray starfighter with scarlet stripes on its sides and its wings. Its wings were shaped like an X, and it had an astromech service droid mounted right behind the cockpit.

 

Cassian shifts his gaze over to the starfighter that Jyn was pointing at. He sees it, and stares at it for a brief moment. “T-65B X-Wing.”

 

“Mhhmmm.” Jyn says in reply.

 

Cassian nods before refocusing on the repairs he was performing underneath his U-Wing. “Once or twice.”

 

Jyn thought for a moment. She has only seen the X-Wings upon her first arrival to the Rebellion as a captured prisoner/criminal, and she has also seen them in action on Eadu, where one of the missiles from an X-Wing killed her father. ‘ _They’re surprisingly faster than the U-Wing_.’ Jyn thought. And that reminded her of the memories when she was 16 years old, when she was always constantly flying in the skies to escape from the grasps of the Empire. One of those flying moments was one that will forever remain in her heart, and that was the memory of flying with Hadder Ponta, her deceased former lover, her very first true love. Back when he was still alive, he wanted to learn to fly like a fighter pilot, all so that he could be a rebel in a huge cause, though Jyn already experienced being a rebel before he wanted to, and it was painful for her at the time. But, she couldn’t force him to not go. However, he decided to stay with her, because he loved her that much, until his and his mother’s deaths, leaving Jyn alone and single for the years up until the day she met Cassian, the day she agreed to join the Rebellion.

 

Though, Jyn never flew an X-Wing, nor taken down any Imperial aircraft in a dogfighting-capable aircraft, she was very interested in flying one, and she hoped she could use one to swat those TIE fighters out of the skies like insects. She felt that could serve as a form of revenge for Hadder’s death, since it was really the Empire’s fault that caused it.

 

“Take me.” Jyn says softly, keeping her gaze locked to the X-Wing.

 

After successfully installing new hardware under the U-Wing, Cassian stands up on his feet and sighs a breath of relief. “We will, soon, Jyn. We will. Just me and you.” Cassian says back, tossing the pliers aside and approaching his Sergeant. Both of them were at eye level, since the crate Jyn sat on had enough height to bring their eyes level as Cassian stood in front of her.

 

“Me and you, hm?” Jyn says on a manner that made her attractive to Cassian, and she crosses a leg over the other, and she crosses one forearm over the other, resembling a youthful girl’s sitting position.

 

Cassian smiles as his lips were right in front of hers. “Me and you. Yes.” He says in a seductive tone, and he lunges his lips forward to plant a deep, loving kiss to Jyn’s lips, and she reciprocates them. Jyn wraps her arms around Cassian’s wet, sweaty waist, though she didn’t mind. They knew some Rebels around them were looking and giving looks of disgust, but they both didn’t mind, because they were inseparable, and that’s how much they were in love with each other, even if it’s just kissing in the middle of the hot, sunny, afternoon.

 

Suddenly, Jyn and Cassian broke away from their kiss, and they shifted their attentions towards the interior of the hanger near them. They heard loud screams, and they could see a group of Rebels struggling with something. All of the Rebels’ attention is focused on the commotion going on inside. Curious, Jyn hops off the crate, and she & Cassian jog to the hangar to see what incident is taking place.

 

Their eyes widen when they see that the Rebels were detaining two Imperials dressed in gray clothes.

 

Yes. Imperials. In the Rebel base.

 

They have been infiltrated.

 

((()))

 

“How did you get in our base!?” Cassian yells at the Imperial infiltrators, who were both cuffed with their arms behind the chairs, in a cell in the brig. Jyn, K-2SO, General Draven, Leia, and Mon Mothma were standing watch as well.

 

“Does it really matter how we got in here!? We’re here, and that’s all that mattered! What do you want!?” The Imperial says.

 

Cassian steps in so that his face is a foot away from the Imperial’s face. Cassian could feel the hate building up in his blood. “We already know you are with the Empire! Tell us, who sent you here!?”

 

The Imperial spat on the ground. “I’m not telling you anything, rebel scum!”

 

With the anger rushing to his head, Cassian delivers a strong punch to the Imperial captive’s face. Mon Mothma, Leia, and Jyn wince at the scene though…

 

“TELL ME!” Cassian yells at the top of his lungs after grabbing the man’s gray shirt.

 

“Doesn’t matter! You’ll all be dead soon enough!” The other Imperial says, glaring at Cassian and the others standing behind him.

 

General Draven takes a step forward, and he holds up a datapad showing some tracking data of the small pod that the Imperial infiltrators arrived on the planet with. “Our data shows that your pod was launched from an Imperial shuttle freighter. There is most likely a key person there that sent you to do this sneaking around. Tell us where you came from, and who sent you! We might even consider sparing your lives if you cooperate with us.”

 

Jyn makes a quick glance at Draven, giving him a glare from his left that he didn’t notice.

 

“Screw all of you! You traitors! Those against the Empire deserve to die!” The other Imperial yells at Cassian’s face.

 

Seeing that they aren’t getting anywhere with the absurd responses from these Imperials, Cassian takes out his A280 hand blaster, and he points it at the Imperial in front of him. Cassian pulls the trigger, and the bright red flash of the blaster bolt exits the gun, and plows it way through the Imperial man’s thigh, causing him to scream in pain and agony.

 

And the moment Jyn, Leia, and Mon Mothma saw this, all three women gasp and wince at the sight of Cassian shooting the man’s leg. The Captain now turned to torture to get information.

 

“TELL ME NOW!!! TELL ME NOW, DAMN IT!!!!” Cassian yells out of fury as he grabs the Imperial man by the collar of his shirt and pressing the barrel of his A280 hand blaster against his head. The other Imperial now is scared to say anything back because he now got fear introduced into him upon seeing his friend being shot.

 

Jyn steps in, looking at Cassian. “Cassian…”

 

Cassian ignores Jyn and continues to interrogate the men. “YOU’D BETTER TELL ME NOW!”

 

“O-O-OKKKAAAYYYY! O-OKAY! WE’RE FROM A WEAPONS FACILITY ON PLANET SADON!” The scared Imperial finally confesses as he watches in horror: his friend continues to scream from the blaster shot to his thigh, to the bone. “W-we’re…organizing weapons for this…this new project. I don’t know what it’s called. But they’re very valuable equipment. That’s all we know!”

 

With that information, Cassian releases his grasp on the screaming man’s collar and points his blaster down at the floor, and he takes a few steps back. The Captain sighs in relief as he looks over at Jyn, who stares back directly into his eye. He sees that Jyn’s face shows no signs of reaction. And the moment he enjoys the sight of the beautiful face in his sight, only one thing came to mind…

 

Protect the ones you cherish.

 

Cassian’s grip on his hand blaster tightens. He could feel the anger surging through his veins instantly. In the blink of an eye, Cassian faces the two Imperial infiltrators, and he raises his A280 hand blaster and blasts both men’s heads, killing them both instantly on the spot, dead.

 

The women gasp, while General Draven glares at Cassian.

 

“What in the hell, Captain Andor!?” Mon Mothma exclaims while Leia covers her mouth, horrified at the sight.

 

General Draven glares at Cassian with his hands on his hips. “Why did you kill them, Captain!? They could’ve had more information, and you killed them! What’s the matter with you!?”

 

It then became silent in the cell for a long minute. Eventually, Leia decides to speak to break the looming silence in the brig cell. “It was unusual for a Rebel to do that…” Leia says, looking down at the floor. She knew what happened when someone did such acts. It led to the dark side: the dark side of the Force.

 

However, Cassian ignores their comments. He holsters his A280 hand blaster, and he looks at everyone in the eye. “We have what we need. It’s already enough.” He says in such a dark tone that Jyn thought there was something very different about Cassian, about the way he handled the situation. She’s never seen him do anything like it before. However, she has witnessed worse actions than that in the past, and this wasn’t anything new to her. She wasn’t terrified. But it only concerned her about Cassian…

 

Cassian leaves the brig cell, leaving Draven, Leia, Mothma, Jyn, and K-2SO speechless together in there. General Draven looks at Jyn, who looks at him too. They both had looks of concern on their faces, and they felt awkward about what had just went down in front of their eyes. “Keep an eye on him, Erso.” Draven commands Jyn. And without question, she nods and leaves the cell.

 

((()))

 

Suddenly, the P.A. speakers rang out with an announcer’s voice, and he had important information to relay to all Rebels and personnel in the Rebel base. “ATTENTION. REBEL INTELLIGENCE HAS JUST CONFIRMED OF AN IMPERIAL WEAPONS TRANSPORTATION OPERATION TAKING PLACE ON PLANET SADON. THIS IMPERIAL ACTIVITY MUST BE STOPPED IMMEDIATELY! THIS MISSION IS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! PREPARE FOR DEPLOYMENT!”

 

With the end of the announcement, voices and sounds of aircraft rang out through the other Rebel bases on Yavin 4. Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO stand in front of their U-Wing as they look around them and watch all the Rebels prepping their equipment for the impromptu mission. It seems the Rebels in the intelligence units from the other planets have gathered sufficient intel about major Imperial activity, and it was extremely consistent with the information that the Imperial infiltrator revealed before he was shot dead by Cassian. Jyn has a look of concern on her face as Cassian looks down at her, gazing into her forest-green eyes with uncertainty.

 

“Weapons operation!?” Jyn asks.

 

Cassian nods, and the two Rogue One members knew exactly what the other was thinking: there may be a chance that Orson Krennic could be there at that Imperial weapons facility, running that weapons transportation activity, since weapons is Krennic’s specialty.

 

“Krennic…” Jyn says softly.

 

Hearing the name of the man who poses a serious danger to them, Cassian places a hand on Jyn’s shoulder to comfort her. “If he’s there, we’ll catch him. We got him the first time, we can do it again.” He assures his Sergeant, and this helps forms a smile on Jyn’s lips as she boards their U-Wing. Cassian and K-2SO follow her in to the cabin, bringing their blasters in their arms.

 

“Rogue One, launch.” Cassian prepares for lift off shortly after they strapped themselves in to their seats. The U-Wing, as well as a squadron of X-Wings and several transportation shuttles, take off into the atmosphere, where they prepare for hyperspace to the planet Sadon.


	25. Archenemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: (Prepare for a long chapter. Personally, I loved this chapter, and I think you will love it. Hopefully this chapter answers some questions you viewers might've had about the plot.)

**Chapter 25: Archenemies**

**_K-2SO_ **

**_U-Wing, thermal control position/gunner_ **

**_Imperial Weapons Facility, Planet Sadon_ **

It is about an hour & a half into the Rebellion’s raid on the Imperial weapons facility. Blasters went off everywhere. X-Wings and Y-Wings engaged Imperial TIE fighters in the airspace above. Transport shuttles delivered reinforcements on the grounds just yards away from the main entrance of the facility. Sadon was a cloudy, warm planet, and it was going to be nightfall soon. All the Rebel officers & their special squads were commanded to stay back, and out of the battle until the Rebel infantries on the ground secured the area just enough for safe landing of more reinforcements.

 

And one of those special squads is Rogue One, in their U-Wing, high up in the sky above the facility where the ground battle is taking place.

 

Cassian pilots the U-Wing at such a slow pace, so that it encircles around the entire area of operation. Jyn kneeled next to the cabin door, which was open, so that she could watch the battle below with her own eyes. She has binoculars in her hands so that she can survey the grounds for K-2SO. And K-2SO sat below the U-Wing in the gunner’s chamber, where he commandeered the controls for the gun cannons.

 

Cassian adjusts the microphone on the collar of his brown jacket, and he speaks. “K-2SO. We’ve been cleared to engage enemy ground hostiles. Activate onboard weapons.”

 

“Affirmative.” Replies K-2SO, who begins flipping on several switches at the controls in front of him. A screen in front of him turns on, and it shows a black & white thermal imaging of the grounds below the U-Wing. K-2SO sees both Rebel and Imperial soldiers near the facility complex engaging one another. “Activating thermal imaging cameras.” The security droid informs his Captain.

 

“How many do we have on the ground, Jyn?” Cassian asks, keeping his eyes focused in the sky in front of him as he tilts the U-Wing to the left to give K-2SO a better angle of the view of the grounds.

 

Jyn looks through the binoculars and surveys the entire battle zone. “About five hundred. Both sides.”

 

“Acknowledged, Sergeant.” Cassian says. “Rebel troops on the ground, K-2. Danger close.” Cassian warns him by raising his voice a little bit to emphasize the importance of the warning.

 

K-2SO nods and gets his hands ready at the controls. “Yes, Captain. Weapons are ready.”

 

Cassian nods and increases the speed of the U-Wing slightly so that they were not like sitting ducks up in the sky, for there were also X-Wings and TIEs dogfighting just a couple of miles below their position in the gray skies. “Open fire.”

 

And with the command given, K-2SO moves the joystick over to an area near the side entrance of the facility. Through the thermal image screen, he sees Stormtroopers exiting through it and then hiding behind cover. K-2SO pushes a button on the control panel in front of him, and a loud bang is heard: a large missile is launched from a cannon mounted under the U-Wing, and, instantly, a large explosion occurs exactly where the Stormtroopers were hiding on-screen. “Missile launched.”

“Confirmed kill.” Jyn informs after she watches the Stormtroopers killed in the blast through her binoculars.

 

“Copy that.” Cassian replies as he brings the U-Wing to the northside of the facility.

 

K-2SO aims the thermal camera to the rear entrance of the facility, where AT-ST walkers were being deployed. They were accompanied by a group of Stormtroopers also. “Walkers sighted. Launching missile.” K-2SO presses the button, and another air-to-ground missile is launched; the missile didn’t take long to reach the AT-ST, and it impacted with it, destroying it instantly, as well as destroying the other 2 AT-STs near it, & killing all the nearby Stormtroopers. “Splash.” K-2SO says as he sees the explosion on-screen.

 

Jyn nods as she sees the kills through her binoculars. “Walkers destroyed. Enemies eliminated. Move to next target.” She mentions over to the security droid.

 

While the missile cannon is reloading, K-2SO notices an Imperial transport shuttle landing on the ground where nearby Rebel soldiers were taking cover, preparing to fight off the Stormtroopers that were about to exit the shuttle. “Imperial shuttle spotted below. Deploying enemies.” K-2SO informs Cassian.

 

Cassian looks out the window and focuses his eyes well to spot the Imperial transport aircraft, seeing bodies of white armor scattering out from it. “Acknowledged. Switch to 40mm ground bombs.”

 

“Yes, sir.” K-2SO replies. He flips on a switch on the control panel, and a loud beep rang out, indicating the activation of another cannon under the U-Wing that had its projectile loaded & ready.

 

“Engage.” Cassian commands his droid as he looks out the cockpit window to watch the Imperial shuttle.

 

“Firing unguided ground bombs.” K-2SO says as he pushes some buttons, and the cannon sounds less loud than the bigger cannon. Five ground bombs release from the cannon, and they fall through the gray skies, slowly. After a few seconds, the sounds of an exploding shuttle and the deaths of Stormtroopers rang out on the battle grounds. However, the ground bombs had a smaller blast radius than the large missiles the U-Wing carried. K-2SO sees that on the thermal imaging screen. “Fox Two.”

 

“Tangos down. Good shot, K-2.” Jyn says as she takes the binoculars off her eyes.

 

“Good.” Cassian says. However, his eyes widen when he hears a very loud beeping noise that rang in quick small intervals, and he looks at the onboard radar. A projectile was coming in fast from behind them. “Incoming proton torpedoes!” The Captain yells, with his heart now in a rapid pace. Jyn turns towards the rear of the cabin, shocked as well.

 

“Intercept!” Cassian yells, hesitating about whether or not to evade the torpedo.

 

Unbeknownst to Jyn & Cassian, K-2SO was already on it: he aims the camera at the incoming torpedo, and he switches the cannon weapon to the larger missile. Upon hearing the lock-on sound for aircraft lock, K-2SO fires a missile at the torpedo, and it makes contacts with it, making both projectiles explode in mid-air. “Torpedo eradicated, Captain! Missile reloading!” He informs.

 

Jyn approaches Cassian from behind his seat. “Evade!”

Without hesitation, and with quick reflexes, Cassian applies the airbrakes. The U-Wing slows down, and they see the TIE fighter zoom past above them. Cassian’s lips form a slight dirty smile as he presses down a trigger button on the flight joystick. A barrage of blue laser bolts projects from underneath the U-Wing’s frontal laser cannons, and they take down the Imperial TIE fighter. “Eliminated the bastard! I’m glad they made major modifications to this ship!” Cassian exclaims happily as he looks at Jyn, who returns the smile before returning to the open cabin door. Cassian returns the U-Wing back on course, where it is now encircling near the front entrance of the Imperial weapons facility.

 

“Cassian, we need to get down there, quick.” Jyn calls out to Cassian while keeping her eyes focused on the grounds below. Acknowledging her words, Cassian adjusts his microphone and speaks to K-2SO.

 

“How’s our troops doing down there?” The Captain asks.

 

“It looks like they’re advancing to the main entrance. The Imperial garrison is diminishing.” K-2SO responds after noticing Rebel forces taking cover near the front entrance. Stormtroopers exit out of the front entrance and shoot at the Rebels.

 

After deciding between two scenarios, Cassian makes his final call. “Danger close, droid. Switch to blaster guns.”

 

“Affirmative.” K-2SO responds as he flips another switch. A loud beep rings out, indicating that the U-Wing’s underside manned blasters were online.

 

“Blast them away.” Cassian commands.

 

K-2SO holds down the trigger button while maneuvering the thermal camera’s joystick. Blue bolts of energy poured down at the front entrance, eliminating every Stormtrooper in the area one-by-one, like death raining from above. K-2SO cleared the front area of the facility, and the Rebels are seen onscreen advancing into the entrance now. The blasters had to be used for a more accurate elimination so that the Rebel infantries nearby don’t get killed accidentally. “Hostiles eliminated, Captain Andor. I believe the area is cleared enough to land safely.”

 

Jyn immediately sits next to Cassian in the co-pilot seat, and she places a hand on his arm. “We’ve got to help them. Let’s land now!”

 

After quickly glancing at the young brunette woman next to him, Cassian nods and lowers the U-Wing from the sky to the ground. K-2SO exits the gunner’s chamber and climbs aboard in the cabin.

 

After grabbing his A280C assault blaster, Cassian points at K-2SO and speaks with a serious tone. “Stay here. Our aircraft needs additional air support. We’ll get out with the other troops.” He commands before hopping off the U-Wing, with Jyn following from behind with her rifle-configured A180 blaster.

 

“Yes, Captain. Will do.” K-2SO says before closing the cabin doors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

((()))

 

**_“Archenemies”_ **

**_1730 hours_ **

**_Rogue One_ **

**_Sgt. Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso_ **

**_Imperial weapons facility, Planet Sadon_ **

 

The squad of Rebels lead the battle into the main cargo hold of the facility, where they eventually find the enormous metal containers that held the Imperial weapons & supplies. There were doors & stairs in all directions, and Jyn & Cassian coordinated a perimeter so that there were at least five Rebels covering each door while the extraction crew was extracting the weapons.

 

“Come on! Get those droids over here, now! Hurry!” One of the extraction crew members yells out through his commlink, calling for the extraction droids to proceed with the objective.

 

A group of Stormtroopers enter the door through which Jyn & Cassian is covering.

 

“Look alive, people!” Cassian yells out as he raises his A280C assault blaster and holds down the trigger, sending red bolts of plasma energy at the white-armored infantries. Jyn does the same, taking aim with her rifle-configured A180 blaster and killing the group of Stormtroopers ahead.

 

More Stormtroopers begin to enter the area from all other directions. Red blaster bolts fly everywhere: from the ground to the ceiling, across one side to the other, from body to body, from rifle to wall. The huge squad of Rebels chatter in distress as they fire back at the Imperial soldiers & defend the weapons cache.

 

As the door in front of Jyn & Cassian opens again, a Stormtrooper with a heavy machine blaster appears. He looked tough, and he looked like he is about ready for Rebel bloodshed. “We got heavies!” Cassian warns after taking a few swift steps back to use the stairs as cover.

 

However, being the quick, reckless, dangerous female Rebel she is, Jyn takes out a device out of her brown vest and she activates it. It beeps, and a red light blinks rapidly. She throws it at the Heavy Stormtrooper. “I have something for you!” Jyn yells out. The Sonic Imploder grenade then detonates, sending an extremely bright flash of blue light towards the Heavy Stormtrooper, and it blinds him temporarily. Jyn & Cassian take this chance to raise their blasters and eliminate the Heavy Stormtrooper from their sight.

 

“Tango down!” Cassian says while looking behind him to see the other Rebels holding up well with the defense of the weapons cache. The extraction droids were already lifting the metal containers towards the enormous hallway from where they came in from.

 

“Let’s move out, team!” The leader of the extraction crew calls out to all the Rebel soldiers in the area.

 

Jyn & Cassian acknowledge it, but as they turn to face the door they were guarding again, a group of Stormtroopers with melee batons come dashing through the door straight at them like maniac psychopaths. “Watch out, Jyn!” Cassian yells out as he positions himself & changes his stance so he is in a defensive position, ready to strike back with the butt of his assault rifle blaster. Jyn whips out her truncheon rod, and she whacks the first Stormtrooper she came into contact with. Another Stormtrooper attacks her: she dodges, and she whacks him one time in the gut, and the second blow to the head, sending him unconscious. Cassian blocks an overhead strike from another trooper using his blaster, and, noticing an opening at the trooper’s gut, he kicks him down the floor, and Cassian finishes him off by blasting him several times. Jyn takes out the last Stormtrooper with a truncheon rod’s blow to the head and a roundhouse kick, sending the trooper flying back and sliding across the floor. There were no more Stormtroopers coming through the door.

 

Cassian looks at Jyn and raises an eyebrow. Her truncheon rod combat reminds him of her close quarters combat against the Stormtroopers in Jedha City. “Reckless, aggressive, undisciplined, eh?” He comments, referring to General Draven’s official description of Jyn Erso.

 

Jyn shrugs her shoulders as she holsters her truncheon rod and picks up her A180 rifle-configured blaster. “That was undisciplined…..for an Imperial.” She jokes.

 

Suddenly, Jyn and Cassian notice something through the doors. A large smoke screen suddenly engulfed the entire hallway behind it, and some of the lights along the entirety of the hallway flicker. The two Rogue One members frown, for they are suspicious.

 

The extraction leader calls out to them. “Captain! Sergeant! We’ve got to go before more Imperials come!”

 

Cassian raises a hand at him. “Yes! Affirmative! We’ll be there! Just go!”

 

The extraction leader nods without reply and exits the premises.

 

Curious to what is beyond the hallway, Jyn and Cassian proceed slowly into the hallway, with the large, black double doors sliding open for them to enter through. Gray smoke lingers the air, and lights flicker with every step. It looked as though a bomb went off in there. Every step that Jyn & Cassian took, it looked like something or someone would appear out of the blue. Their hands tighten on the grip of their blasters with every careful stride they take, their palms become sweaty from the increasing impatience, and their eyes shift left and right to survey the hallway.

 

However, Jyn could feel a very strong presence ahead. She doesn’t know who it is, but she senses the Force is telling her it would be bad. It got bad when Jyn clutched her chest, because her heart started to ache from the strong feeling she could sense in that very hallway. “Ah! C-Cassian…” Jyn struggles to speak.

 

Cassian places a comforting hand on Jyn’s back and pats her a couple of times. “Hey, it’s okay. Come on.”

 

Keeping their gazes forward, they walk a few more steps until they see that a figure stood amidst the smoke. Jyn and Cassian both raise their blasters, taking aim at the figure. At first, it appears as a dark shadow. But the closer they get, the clearer the human figure became. Eventually, the true colors are revealed, because Jyn & Cassian’s eyes widen when they see who it is.

 

It is a tall man. A tall, old man, with gray hair.

White uniform. Black pants.

 

Black officer’s cap.

 

White cape.

 

The cold blue-gray eyes stare at the two Rebels with bitter lust for murder.

 

His black-gloved hands are crossed over the front side of his waist, appearing as though he was expecting them to come.

 

Jyn & Cassian lower their blasters, and they slowly look at each other for a brief moment, then back at the man they sighted in the hallway, staring right at them:

 

Orson Krennic.

 

Jyn and Cassian look at each other once more. As they look at each other, Cassian can tell in those forest-green stardust eyes that there is hatred and anger erupting in her veins. He can see Jyn’s anger and lust for vengeance in her eyes, and she wanted it badly. Knowing how reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined Jyn is, Cassian didn’t have to think to know what Jyn is going to do now.

 

They face Krennic’s direction again, and they notice that he begins to walk away.

 

With rage flowing in her, Jyn’s breaths become rapid as she detaches her A180 hand blaster from the rifle configuration mod, letting it hang freely behind her back with the shoulder strap she integrated onto it. Then, she & Cassian run forward towards Krennic. Cassian knows Jyn switched to her A180 pistol blaster, despite its decreased range, firepower, & accuracy, because he knows this was personal for Jyn. This was a personal vendetta Jyn wanted to settle, given her family’s history with Orson Krennic. If she was going to kill Orson Krennic, it was going to be a personal kill, and she wanted to make it a personal kill. She wanted it to feel personal.

 

Jyn & Cassian begin shooting their blasters at Krennic. The red bolts of energy plow through the smoke and impact the walls at the end of the hallway. However, they kept missing as Krennic walks away into the hallway to the right, making him disappear from view. They noticed that Krennic walked as though he wasn’t scared of them. He walked smoothly & calmly, like as if he was invincible and he had nothing to worry about. Jyn grunts in frustration as he escapes from them. They turn to the hallway to the right, and continue chasing down Krennic.

 

Jyn & Cassian eventually arrive at the end of the hallway just in time to see Krennic entering a capsule-shaped elevator encased in clear glass. The two Rebels stop instantly in their tracks and raise their blasters, and they fire at Krennic. However, the clear, blaster-proof elevator door closes in time before any could hit Krennic. Krennic looks down at them as the elevator ascends towards the ceiling until he is no longer in sight.

 

Jyn & Cassian approach the other elevator next to it, and they start mashing the buttons on it to activate it. However, the lights on its control pad wouldn’t light up, and the elevator won’t respond.

 

“Damn it! It won’t work!” Cassian groans in frustration while banging at the control pad.

 

Suddenly, Stormtroopers arrive at the other end of the hallway from where they came from. They start shooting their E-11 blasters at the two Rebels.

 

Cassian pulls Jyn’s arm along with him as he has them evade to cover, with their backs against the wall. Cassian peeks out the corner and shoots back at the troopers, then hides back to cover repeatedly.

 

“There’s got to be some way out…” Cassian mutters loudly.

 

Unbeknownst to him, Jyn notices her kyber crystal necklace glowing under her gray jacket & brown vest. She could feel a strong sense throughout her body and her mind. She figured it was the Force calling out to her. ‘ _Trust the Force…_ ’ Jyn thought to herself, repeating her mother’s last words to her younger self. And that is when Jyn gazes at the elevator’s control pad directly across from her.

 

With her back against the wall, her A180 blaster pointed at the ground and holding it with both hands, and with her eyes closed, Jyn takes a deep breath. She inhales. Then she exhales. Repeatedly. She focuses her mind to the unthinkable.

 

After taking cover again after shooting a Stormtrooper from afar, Cassian looks to his right, noticing Jyn with her eyes closed. Confused as to why she is doing that, one idea came to his mind. “ _What is she…? Hmm…I hope she knows what she’s doing._ ” The Captain thought to himself before returning fire at the Imperials again.

 

Jyn eventually opens her eyes at the sounds of the elevator door opening surprisingly, much to Cassian’s surprise. “Come on!” Jyn says as she pulls Cassian along with her quickly into the elevator. Once in, she pushes the button to close the elevator door, and they watch as the red blaster bolts make contact with the ascending elevator’s blaster-proof glass.

 

During the elevator ride, Cassian decides to break the silence, for he anticipated it was going to take a while. “I’m guessing you did that. You know, with the….Force.” Cassian says, panting.

 

Jyn looks at him. “Hm.”

 

Cassian shrugs his shoulders and lets his A280 blaster hang freely behind his back using the shoulder strap attached to it. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He says.

 

After a long moment, Cassian faces Jyn, and he places his hands on her shoulders so that he turns her so she can face him. The 27-year-old Captain looks down into the 21-year-old Sergeant’s forest-green eyes, and she stares back up into his chocolate brown eyes. “Jyn, Orson is getting away. We need to get to him.” He warns her.

 

“I know…” Jyn says softly, deciding not to remove her gaze from Cassian’s eyes.

 

And at that moment, Jyn & Cassian feel something strong in their minds. Jyn’s kyber crystal was still glowing bright underneath her jacket. The two Rogue One members feel, somehow, this elevator ride felt so very familiar to them….It felt like déjà vu. They both know they’ve done this before….

 

It is then that both Jyn & Cassian realizes why this moment seemed so familiar to them…

The elevator ride down in the archive tower in Scarif, moments after sending the Death Star plans and incapacitating Orson Krennic. They remembered staring into each other’s eyes and cherishing that moment like there was no tomorrow in that elevator ride down in the Scarif archive tower.

 

Though, they don’t remember if they had kissed each other in that elevator or not.

 

In Scarif, they were riding the elevator down: down to their last moments of their first lives.

 

But, this time….they were riding the elevator up: up to triumph.

 

But, Cassian decides to take the initiative by placing a hand on Jyn’s cheek. They both stare into each other’s eyes like a strong connection. “In case anything happens…” Cassian says softly.

 

Without hesitating, Jyn & Cassian have one passionate kiss just before the elevator reaches the top of the building.

 

The two pull away from the kiss, and they grab ahold of their blasters, getting back to business. They run out of the elevator as fast as they can, and they reach the middle of an aircraft landing platform, where they look up to see Orson Krennic in an Imperial Lambda-class T-4A transport shuttle with its entrance ramp left open, accompanied by his new personal Death Troopers dressed in black armor and heavy blaster rifles. The shuttle is already up in the air off the platform.

 

Jyn & Cassian stop dead in their tracks in the middle of the platform, and, though not raising their blasters, they look up at Krennic with serious eyes.

 

“KRENNIC!” Jyn yells out at the top of her lungs, trying to overpower her voice over the sound of the shuttle’s loud engines.

 

The Imperial weapons Director, Orson Krennic, gives Jyn a dirty smile as she said her first words to him since their last encounter on Scarif. “Jyn Erso! Oh, how nice to see you again, with your little friend here!”

 

Jyn’s eyes widen with increasing rage. “HOW!?!?” Jyn asks loudly, asking how he is still alive, just as much alive as she & Cassian were. “HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THAT DEATH STAR BLAST!?!?”

 

Orson chuckles and shakes his head. “Awwww! I could ask the same about you! Have you not figured it out yet? It’s obvious!” Orson remarks with an evil smirk.

 

Jyn looks at Cassian, confused to what Orson Krennic is implying. Cassian, confused as well, gives her a puzzled look. Then they turn their focus back on Krennic, with their hearts beating rapidly from anxiety and stress.

 

Carefully and slowly, Orson inserts one of his gloved hands under the top of his white uniform, and he slowly pulls something out of it. A white kyber crystal dangles from the black leather cord that he held in front of him to show the confused Rebels in front of him: the very Rebels that took him down in Scarif. “Hah! I’m surprised that the fact was right under your noses! You really think I could let disaster take me away that easily!?” Orson remarks with a sinister laugh.

 

Hearing the unexpected reveal, Jyn & Cassian both look at each other with wide eyes, because fear now ran through their veins. It conquered them, just like how Krennic conquered Cassian’s nightmare.

 

“You know, Jyn, working with your father has really benefited me in all the ways possible! You really didn’t think his knowledge of kyber crystals can lead to second chances? I know everything, just like he did! I’m very much alive again, just as you are! Your father’s legacy has led me to a new path!” Krennic remarks, laughing evilly again.

 

Cassian looks at Jyn immediately, because he knew that every word that Orson said greatly aggravated Jyn, and he knew she was going to raise her A180 blaster at the old man any second. And Cassian was right: through gritted teeth and an angered facial expression, Jyn raises her blaster directly up at Orson Krennic, and her finger was already close to squeezing the trigger. However, Cassian grabs Jyn’s upper arm, attempting to prevent her from taking the shot.

 

Feeling her true anger fueling her blood, Jyn screams out at the top of her lungs. “No….NO, NO!!!! YOU USED HIM, YOU BASTARD! YOU USED HIM LIKE HOW YOU USED ME AND MY MOTHER! YOU MADE HIM YOUR LAB RAT! HOW DARE YOU!”

 

Seeing Jyn’s angry reaction, Krennic laughs again. “Awwww! Are you going to kill me, darling? Don’t forget! I have my tool of survival right here, just like you!” Krennic says, putting his own kyber crystal necklace back under his uniform.

 

And Jyn grunts angrily, trying to struggle free from Cassian's strong grasp, but to no avail.

 

“My Death Star may have killed me once! My Death Star may have been destroyed! But I’ve got nothing to worry about, because I’ve found a new plan! A new plan that will be more superior than the Death Star! The most superior of all Imperial plans! Your father’s knowledge of kyber crystals and weapons development was just the beginning, Erso girl! I will continue to thrive in the Empire as the most supreme leader in the galaxy!” The Imperial Director in the white uniform yells out with a smile.

 

Jyn & Cassian both grunt in response to Orson’s statement about the ‘new plan.’

 

Then, Orson Krennic’s smile suddenly fades into a mean glare. “…And I will not have you two interfere with my plans again, rebel scums!”

 

And with those words in the air, Orson’s Death Troopers suddenly raise their heavy blasters at Jyn & Cassian down below at the landing platform. Jyn & Cassian stare up at the troopers with fearless faces, and they don’t attempt to raise their blasters at them, for they are clearly outnumbered in the situation and the current location.

 

Jyn shakes her head angrily, then raises her A180 hand blaster at Orson again. “No. You won’t win again!”

 

The moment Jyn mimicked the exact words and the exact action of her mother 13 years earlier during her encounter with Krennic on Lah’mu, as well as her words under the signal dish on the Scarif archive tower, Orson Krennic rolls his eyes in annoyance. “Oh, those words are getting so annoying! What’s with you, Erso girl!?”

 

Jyn decides not to answer. She can only stare at Orson in disgust.

 

Orson continues to speak. “Well, unfortunately, it seems both of you arrived just in time for the show! But…you’ve also arrived just in time for your deaths! Time for me to go! Duty calls!” Then, he laughs an evil laugh once more. “Time to say goodbye this time, daddy’s little girl.” He blurts out loudly enough for Jyn to hear.

 

((()))

 

Just before the Death Troopers could unleash their heavy blasters, the doors that Jyn and Cassian came through earlier behind them opened, and a squad of Rebels came rushing through to their rescue, armed with assault blasters. Both surprised and relieved, Jyn & Cassian raise their blasters at the Imperial transport shuttle and return fire just as the Death Troopers unleashed theirs at the other Rebels. While they were shooting, Jyn & Cassian notice Orson Krennic looking down at both of them as his shuttle ascends higher into the sky.

 

Suddenly, a loud voice and a roar is heard behind the two Rogue One members. Jyn & Cassian turn to see who it is: two people appear, and they recognized them from a while ago in their return to the Rebel base: Han Solo & Chewbacca.

 

Han approaches them, equipped with his DL-44 hand blaster. “Hey, kids! I’m here to get you out! Let’s get outta here before they blow this place to hell!” He advises Jyn & Cassian, knowing that the Empire doesn’t want to leave traces of their operations to the Rebellion or any third party out there.

 

“Come on, let’s go!” Cassian says to Jyn, who nods and follows them from behind.

 

They follow Han and Chewbacca through the doors the came through before, and Han eventually leads them down the end of a hallway where there is a hatch on the ceiling. Han shoots it open with his DL-44 blaster, and they climb up and out of there. Ending up on the rooftop on the other side of the facility, the Millennium Falcon hovered next to the roof, waiting for their extraction.

 

“Come on, come on, come on!” Han says, gesturing for Rogue One to run into the ship. Cassian reaches for Jyn behind him, and she grabs ahold of his hand as he leads her up the loading ramp, and it closes once they enter the ship.

 

The four Rebels jog to the Falcon’s cockpit, where each of them take a seat, with Han & Chewbacca occupying the front 2 seats which were the pilot seats.

 

“Let’s get back to base. Set the ship in hyperdrive. They’re about to blow the place.” Han orders Chewbacca, who roars and flips on a few switches near the ceiling.

 

Laying down their blasters and sighing in relief, Jyn & Cassian give Han confused looks. Cassian speaks to him. “I thought you left the Rebellion?”

 

Han shakes his head while keeping his eyes focused, and he lifts the ship so that it ascends into the sky. “Not yet, kid. But let’s just call this a friendly favor. I’m actually thinking about me and Chewie staying just a bit longer.” Han answers Captain Andor. He pulls a lever down, and a large hum is heard from the rear of the Falcon. Its thrust vectors activate, and the Falcon begins to gain speed.

Jyn & Cassian watch as the Rebels detonate the explosives that were planted in the facility during the raid earlier, and the facility explodes into flames everywhere, high in the sky. It was the picture of a victory for the Rebellion. And most importantly, they were able to extract the Imperial weapons cache, which was onboard another Rebel transport ship heading off into hyperspace.

 

Wondering how K-2SO is doing, he raises his wrist to speak into his commlink bracelet. “K-2SO, do you read me? Where are you?”

 

After a long moment, Cassian sighs in relief as he hears the robotic voice that is so familiar to him. “I read you, Captain. I’m in the U-Wing, flying with the X-Wing & Y-Wing squadrons.”

 

“Alright.” Cassian says, relaxing into the chair. “Return to base. Jyn and I got a ride out of here.”

 

“Yes, sir.” K-2SO responds before cutting off comms.

 

“Jumping to hyperspace.” Han says as the view outside the cockpit comes to a blur, and everything outside turned into a blue flash, as the Millennium Falcon enters hyperspace, with the destination set to the Rebel installation on Yavin 4.

 

Although, the Rebels completed their mission, Jyn & Cassian were still shocked at who they just encountered. Orson Krennic escaped, and the longer he is alive, the more dangerous the Empire will become. The Rebellion’s leaders know how vital Krennic is to the Empire’s weapons division, just as much as Galen Erso, Jyn’s father, was during the development of the Death Star. Cassian looks over at Jyn, whose forest-green eyes stare out the window of the cockpit in reflection of the encounter. He knew her anger still lingered in her body. He could see how much she hated Orson Krennic, and how much she hated the sight of him. Cassian knew that Krennic’s ‘new plan’ would be another major threat both to the galaxy and the Rebellion, and he knew the Rebellion will now have to work harder on their survival if they are to persist & triumph over the Empire soon.

 

And that wasn’t all. Cassian could tell just from the brief encounter how great of an archenemy Orson Krennic is to Jyn. But, now that he and Jyn are lovers now, Cassian will stand by Jyn’s side no matter what.

 

And that means…

 

…If Orson Krennic is Jyn’s archenemy, then that makes him Cassian’s archenemy too.


	26. A Legendary Weapon

**Chapter 26: A Legendary Weapon**

The four Rebels step out of the Millennium Falcon shortly after landing from hyperspace. The operation was a success, and the extraction crew transported the Imperial weapons cache to the center of the main hangar. The leaders of the Rebellion wanted those equipment inspected for evidence of any sort of new weapons development the Empire, and Orson Krennic, was planning in the near future.

 

After Chewbacca makes a soft roar to Han, Han nods and turns to the two Rogue One members standing in front of him. “Well, guys, I gotta catch up with the other troops. You be careful, ya hear?” Han says. Cassian nods in response and waves a hand as he & Jyn watch Han and the Wookie warrior tread off to the other side of the hangar.

 

Cassian turns to Jyn and looks down at her, and she looks up at him. The forest-green eyes couldn’t forget the face of the man they had seen just recently, and Cassian knew that Jyn wanted to get out there continuously to exact her parents’ revenge for Krennic’s treachery and evil deeds.

 

“It’ll be alright. As long as we’re here with the other troops, we’ll be safe from Krennic.” Cassian assures his Sergeant in a way that comforts her a bit. Jyn nods slowly, and she grabs Cassian’s hand and touches it to her cheek, feeling the warmth of it on the touch. She feels every bit of comfort and intimacy in that touch, and Cassian couldn’t help but smile and rub his hand around her cheek, further reinforcing the touch. Cassian eventually places a quick kiss on Jyn’s forehead before walking off to meet with K-2SO, who just landed their U-Wing outside the main hangar.

 

Jyn watches her Captain walk off. Then, suddenly, she feels a presence behind her that is wanting to speak. Hearing it speak, she isn’t surprised to hear Mon Mothma speaking to her. Though, Jyn keeps her eyes forward, keeping them glued on Cassian as he enters the U-Wing’s cabin.

 

“He’s a caring soldier, isn’t he?” Mon Mothma says. Jyn didn’t have to think twice about the answer to that. “He’s also one of our best field soldiers out there.” Mon Mothma mentions. “His marksmanship, his charismatic character, his commitment to the mission, his leadership, even his espionage abilities, impressed us so much that we decided to take him in as our Intelligence Officer and covert espionage agent.”

 

With those words, Jyn becomes a bit confused when she gives Mon Mothma a quick glance. “Espionage?” She says with a puzzled expression.

 

Mon Mothma nods in reply, confirming the statement. “Yes. Captain Andor is one of our top spies in this Rebellion. He can decode things, he can go undercover, you name it. He’s one of our few elites.”

 

Jyn shifts her eyes to the ground for a moment, thinking about the information her leader just revealed about Cassian. Then Jyn turns to focus her stare at Cassian again in the distance, who is now outside the U-Wing chatting with K-2SO. ‘ _A…spy?_ ’ Jyn thought to herself. Though, Jyn is so much in love with Cassian, she never knew that Cassian is a spy for the Rebellion. And, given the experiences in her past, Jyn knows a few things about spies: they have the potential to betray you at any time, right under your nose. Was Cassian that kind of person? No, he couldn’t be, Jyn thought. She trusted him greatly, and she knows he would never turn against his own comrades. Still, this was something that stirred up a little concern for Jyn…

 

Jyn and Mon Mothma watch as the huge weapon containers are opened, and the Rebels gain access to the material concealed inside. They find huge gray capsules that have launchers inside of them. Some of the Rebels gasp as they are astonished & surprised by the sight of them. Though, no one knew exactly what they were used for, and why they were built in the first place.

 

“Interesting…” Mon Mothma wonders, gazing at the capsule launchers.

 

“I wonder what they’re used for?” Jyn asks, wondering about the mysteries pieces of weaponry herself.

 

Then, Mon Mothma faces Jyn to speak. “Beats me. I must gather the research team and start research on those Imperial capsule launchers…or whatever it is they are called.”

 

Jyn nods.

 

“….And don’t let go of faith, Sergeant.” Mon Mothma speaks the last words before walking off.

 

Jyn absorbs those words and thinks about Cassian: the Rebel Intelligence Officer, the Rebel spy, the man she cherishes most.

 

((()))

 

The purple kyber crystal glows brightly on the white table. It rests beside the silver hilt, which had gold designs engraved along its 10-inch length. Jyn stares at the two pieces of powerful artifacts in front of as she sat there on the stool, in the weapons laboratory. Luckily, no one was there with her, so she had the entire laboratory to herself.

 

However, Jyn is reluctant to show anyone her new finding. She is concerned that a lightsaber might draw attention to her, or that it might change other people’s impression of her. The only person Jyn feels she could trust with this is Cassian.

 

The female Rebel pulls on her brown vest so that she brings up the commlink attached to the area near the collar bone. “Cassian? Could you come to the laboratory? I’ve something to show you.”

 

It didn’t take long for her Captain to reply right away. “I’ll be there, Jyn. Hold on.”

 

While she is waiting, Jyn holds the silver hilt in her hands. She rotates the silver piece of metal in both hands so that she examines every inch of it. Still, Jyn couldn’t figure out whose lightsaber it was, or where it came from, and why it ended up in this Rebel base. She could only be thankful that it was there where she found it at the right time.

 

After a few minutes of waiting, Cassian finally arrives in the lab. He approaches the table Jyn sat in front of, and he places a hand on the table so that he is leaning against it. “Hey. What is it?” He asks curiously.

 

And so Jyn shifts her eyes to the table, making Cassian look at the two eye-catching objects in front of him. The purple kyber crystal glows bright enough that it lit Cassian’s face with purple light, and Jyn watches every inch of Cassian’s face for a facial response. And so she did get it: Cassian stares at the kyber crystal for a very long moment before shifting his focus on Jyn. The female Rebel keeps her gaze up at the tall man in front of her.

“Where did you get this!?” Cassian asks with a puzzled face while pointing at the lightsaber pieces.

 

“I-I’ts a….a lightsaber.” Jyn says nervously. “I found these parts a few days ago. I don’t know whose it is or where it came from.” Jyn explains nervously, keeping a close eye on Cassian’s face. Cassian blinks his eyes, trying to assess the situation, and Jyn thought this was a bad idea to reveal the lightsaber to Cassian.

 

“Uhh….” Cassian could only get out of his mouth.

 

“I think I can put it together and make this thing work again.” Jyn tells her Captain, who is still in a puzzled state.

 

The questions that played over and over in Cassian’s head were: Did this lightsaber have anything to do with Jyn’s newfound Force ability? Did she find the lightsaber because of her subtle connection with the Force? What would everyone’s reaction be if she wielded a lightsaber even though she isn’t a Jedi? How much of a threat would the Imperials view her as? Would this affect their relationship?

 

However, Cassian was a strong man, and he had strong faith in those he cares about and those around him. He had faith in Jyn: his 21-year-old girlfriend, his Sergeant, his Rogue One partner. Because he made a vow to himself: to stand by Jyn’s side no matter what.

 

Jyn’s lips suddenly begin to form a smile as she sees that Cassian smiles at her and he shrugs his shoulders. He speaks in a positive tone. “Well, let’s see what this thing can do.”

 

Jyn scoffs at her Captain positive approval of the powerful weapon in front of them, because she knows that he would allow her to keep it and use it in field operations they deployed on. Taking the purple glowing kyber crystal, she sets it in the center of the hilt. After bringing the two halves of the hilt together, she takes a screwdriver and re-screws all the screws and parts necessary to fix the weapon. Perhaps, her past role as the technology & data replicating person in Saw Gerrera’s group of rebels proved useful in the present.

 

“Here it goes…” Jyn says after completing the reassembly of the old lightsaber. Cassian’s eyes are heavily focused on the lightsaber, because he was eager to see it function.

 

Jyn presses the activation button on the hilt. Jyn and Cassian’s eyes widen in awe as a purple glow lights the entire laboratory room, and a loud humming sound rings out upon activation.

 

Jyn & Cassian’s eyes become mesmerized by the sight of the vibrant, long purple plasma blade that was emitting from the silver hilt. The combination of its bright purple blade & its idle humming sound stirred up much astonishment in the two Rebels admiring it with great awe.

 

Jyn swings the purple lightsaber a few times, noting the different humming sounds that the lightsaber made with each swing in synchronization. After one last sway, Jyn presses the button on the hilt, and the purple plasma blade retracts back into the hilt.

 

Cassian faces Jyn, and they both gaze in awe at each other. Cassian wraps an arm around Jyn’s shoulders and brings her closer into the side of his ribs. He kisses her brunette fringe before speaking. “Mhhmm. May the Force be with you.” He says with a wink.

Jyn returns a dirty smirk as she stores her old, but new weapon inside her brown vest. “And may the Force be with you too, Captain.” She says with a smile, and she plants a gentle kiss on Cassian’s lips.

 

Then, an idea came to Cassian’s mind. “Hey, you know, it is my birthday next month.” Cassian reveals to Jyn, much to her surprise, since it has been a long several months already since they first met in that command room. She realizes Cassian will be turning 28 soon.

 

Jyn smiles up at her Captain. “Then happy early birthday.”


	27. A Sinister Retaliation

**Chapter 27: A Sinister Retaliation**

_The world wasn’t there. It was just an abyss: a dark, empty abyss. It was a place where nothing but thoughts existed. Memories came into view, one by one: the most precious of memories. This was the dream world, where only the consciousness can stretch into the infinity of time, the limitless places greater than the universe itself._

_The memories of the little brunette toddler with her mother carrying her throughout the giant city of Coruscant scattered like pieces of broken glass._

_The memory of her father telling her “Everything I do is to protect you, Stardust,” showed as his voice rang out into the open dark abyss of infinity._

_The memories of the horrible acts and cruel violence enacted upon civilians with the group of rebels the young teenage girl participated with revealed itself in thin air._

_The great memories of the young man who opened her heart, and fulfilled the space in her heart called the void, for the very first time in her times of hardship & loneliness, breaks into shards of glass like a broken heart, because his tragic unexpected death broke the young girl down forever._

_The absurd memories of the young woman’s jail time served replayed all around._

_But then, white light engulfed the entirety of the abyss: the consciousness that it existed in._

_5 familiar people appear, standing next to each other in a group. They stare directly at her. They had the happiest of all smiles on their faces. Right behind them in the background was the U-Wing that had the words ‘Rogue One’ written all over it. The young brunette woman felt like she could simply reach out and hug them._

_But, suddenly, the abyss turns dark again. The 5 friends of the young woman disappeared like smoke dissipating into thin air._

_And then a familiar face appears. A face that fueled the hate resting in the woman’s heart. It was the face of a man: the man in white. White uniform, white cape, black pants, gray hair, blue eyes. He laughed a sinister laugh like as if he was taunting her. His blue-gray eyes staring at her felt like stinging insects. His presence pained her already._

_The man in white fades away._

_Nothing but the dark abyss…._

_Out of nowhere, a woman’s voice spoke in a soft, gentle tone._

_“Trust the Force, Jyn…” The woman’s voice rang out before it faded out._

_Then, a very eerie breathing sound is heard, as though someone was breathing through a mask with a voice filter. It made the voice sound sinister, evil-like. The cold, dark tone of the voice was already enough to define the entity as truly evil with a dark heart._

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_“Begin your path to the dark side of the Force…” The voice echoes._

((()))

 

Jyn’s eyes immediately fly open, with both eyes becoming wide instantly. Her breaths become very rapid, her heart races with every millisecond that ticks by, and sweat drips down Jyn’s face. Jyn lays there in bed, staring up at the ceiling in a panic, for she just experienced a dream. A bad dream, rather. Jyn notices that her vision is blurry, though she struggles to clear her sight.

 

‘ _Did I….have a nightmare, just like Cassian’s?_ ’ Jyn thought to herself as she propped herself up with her elbow.

 

However, Jyn realizes that she woke up not only due to the nightmare that she just experienced, but due to the sounds of the emergency alert alarms blaring throughout the entire Rebel base and in every quarters each Rebel lived in. Jyn instantly stands up from her bed to listen to the P.A.

 

“ATTENTION, ATTENTION! ALL REBELS, THIS IS AN URGENT EMERGENCY! EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! I REPEAT: ALL REBELS, THIS IS AN URGENT EMERGENCY! EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!” The P.A. announces in distress over the alarms.

 

“U-Under attack!?!?” Jyn exclaims out loud.

 

But how?

 

Jyn looks down and notices that her kyber crystal necklace glows in a very unusual way: it was pulsing instead of just staying glowed. Its glowing light pulsed in irregular patterns. Ignoring the abnormality, Jyn wished she could figure out how the Empire could retaliate so fast in response to the Rebellion’s operation in the Imperial weapons facility on Sadon, but now was not the time. She needed to evacuate the Rebel base, and she needed to act quick.

 

However, right when Jyn takes her first couple of steps, a strong vibration shook the ground like an extremely violent earthquake, causing her to stumble down onto the floor. Then, loud explosion sounds rang out within a 5-mile radius all around the pyramid-shaped building. Jyn knew that the Imperial’s aerial TIE forces were already attacking & bombing every pyramid-shaped building in a 20-mile radius. The Empire’s surprise morning attack on the Rebellion had just begun.

 

**_“A Sinister Retaliation”_ **

**_0719 hours_ **

**_Rogue One_ **

**_Sgt. Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso_ **

**_Rebel base, Yavin 4_ **

Not hesitating to think about anything, Jyn dashes to her closet and grabs the first thing she knows best to have with her: her A180 blaster with its rifle configuration mod. Then she quickly proceeds to grab her brown bag and tosses the nearest pairs of clothes she finds in front of her. After retrieving everything necessary in her closet, she approaches her desk and quickly stares at the photo frames of herself with her parents as a little girl, a group photo of Rogue One in the main hangar, and a photo of Cassian. “ _I can never leave these behind._ ” Jyn says to herself in her head before proceeding to store the 3 photos into her brown leather bag.

 

After gathering all the important belongings that meant life to her, she looks down and tightens her belt & her blaster’s holster. She even makes sure that her truncheon rod and her new lightsaber dangled from her waist belt.

 

Jyn quickly pushes the button on the control pad to open her door, and she already sees in front of her that Rebels sprinted back & forth past her down the long hallways. Yelling, cursing, and weapons being loaded with blaster cells are heard throughout the hallways; Jyn figures the entire base is in chaos. Being careful not to run into any Rebels along the way, Jyn jogs down the hallway towards the stairs, dodging everybody that sprinted towards her direction. She knows she has to evacuate the planet, but she knows she will never leave without the man she loves: Cassian. And so, Jyn takes the stairs up to the 8th floor instead of the elevators because she knows it is more dangerous to use them since the many trips it took Rebels through the floors would slow her down significantly.

 

Jyn eventually arrives at Cassian’s quarters, and she enters after seeing it is left ajar.

 

“CASSIAN!?” Jyn calls out in a loud, worried voice. She looks around swiftly, searching for her beloved Captain.

 

After a long moment of no response, Cassian finally emerges from his office in a hurry with his own bag slung over his shoulder and his A280C assault blaster in his hands. “Jyn! Come on! We need to get off this planet! The Empire is attacking us!” Cassian warns her, and he pulls Jyn’s arm so that she came along with him.

 

“W-Why can’t we just fight them back!?” Jyn asks as they jog down the hallway towards the stairs.

 

“Because we’re unprepared, and it’s best if we do get out of here! Now come on! We need to find K-2SO!” Cassian informs her at the top of his lungs. His breaths become shallower the more he ran down the staircase with Jyn. He is in great distress from the retaliation that the Empire took onto them, and what stressed him more is getting Jyn out of there and off to safety.

 

Eventually, they arrive in the main hanger, where both of them see Rebels running back & forth while communicating and shooting back at the invading waves of Stormtroopers from the jungle of trees outside the pyramid-shaped building. Seeing a few Stormtroopers arrive from the right side and raise their blasters, Jyn & Cassian raise their own blasters with quick reflexes and spray their fury of red plasma energy bolts at them, taking them down swiftly in the blink of an eye. Upon doing that, they both progress further down the hangar, until a familiar gray droid approaches them from their U-Wing.

 

“K-2SO! Get in the ship and follow the entire fleet! We’ll meet you there!” Cassian says before pulling Jyn along, much to her confusion.

 

K-2SO watches him take off with Jyn, with a puzzled look on his ‘face.’ He speaks after him. “Yes, Captain, but where are you going?”

 

Cassian yells out his reply while they run towards the other side of the hangar. “To get the leaders!”

 

All of the officers’ priority was to secure and bring the leaders of the Rebellion to the transport shuttle, where they can be flown off to safety from the brutal forces of the Empire. Among them were Mon Mothma, Princess Leia, General Draven, and others. Though, Cassian wondered if Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca already evacuated the premises themselves.

 

Eventually, the two Rebels arrive at the hidden aircraft landing platform where the leaders were to meet in the emergency situation. Panting due to decrease of breath capacity and rapid heart rates, Jyn & Cassian look around to see that no ship and none of the leaders were present. The two Rebels were the only ones in there.

 

“W-Where are they? Did they evac already?” Cassian pants, catching his breath in between words. Jyn stays quiet as she just stands there next to her Captain, with her blaster in her grip. However, Jyn could feel a very strong, but eerie presence on the platform, and she senses that it is a dark, cold-hearted being.

 

And her prediction is right: the lights in the indoor landing platform suddenly dim just enough that their surroundings were still visible to their eyes. Both of them look around in a state of confusion. The doors they came through came to a close, much to their surprise. The air around them became chili, as if it sent chills down their spines to give them the nervous feeling. Everything around them suddenly felt so dark. Jyn senses that something wasn’t right.

 

A loud inhale and exhale is heard behind them. It is so loud, it made Jyn & Cassian gasp and jump and turn around to see what caused their surprised reaction. A tall figure in black armor and a black cape approaches them slowly, with every slow step instilling fear into their mental consciousness. The man wore a black helmet, and its voice filter changed the tone of his emitted breaths, giving a sinister impression to the two opposing Rebels before him.

 

Jyn & Cassian stare at the tall man with wide eyes of fear.

 

“Vader…” Cassian mutters under his breath audible enough so that only Jyn hears him. The fear now conquered their emotions. This man is the one that has been haunting them in their dreams, aside from Orson Krennic. Both Jyn & Cassian know who the sinister entity in front of them is:

 

Darth Vader.

 

After a long moment of a stare down between the two Rebels and the dark lord, Vader activates his lightsaber: its plasma energy blade glows a solid red, indicating his allegiance to the dark side of the Force.

 

Feeling her heart rise to her throat from the fear and the nervousness flowing in her blood, Jyn holsters her A180 blaster. She knows it is the perfect opportunity to use her lightsaber. She detaches her lightsaber from her waist belt, and she pushes the activation button on the hilt, sending a long blade of purple-colored plasma energy out its emitter.

The colors purple and red light the entirety of the dim indoor landing platform.

 

Also, Jyn notices from the corner of her eye that a man in a white Imperial officer’s uniform suddenly enters the platform, taking small, slow strides as his blaster is gripped tightly in his hand. Orson Krennic arrives just in-time for the showdown; this is obvious because Jyn sees that Krennic had a smile of amusement on his face. Deciding not to intervene, given his obsession of killing Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor, Krennic chuckles evilly and holsters his DT-29 revolver blaster pistol. Then he crosses his arms with a dirty smile as he stands on the side watching the scene taking place.

 

Figuring she could put on a little show in front of her nemesis, as well as fending off against Darth Vader, Jyn rushes forward with her purple lightsaber raised.

 

“JYN!” Cassian yells out in an attempt to stop her, though it is no use. He immediately raises his A280 blaster and starts firing at Vader.

 

Despite his old age, Vader uses his quick dark lord reflexes to block Cassian’s blaster bolts with his red lightsaber: the bolts deflect in various directions, much to Cassian’s frustration.

 

Jyn swings her purple lightsaber at Darth Vader, and the red lightsaber clashes with hers. She takes another swing, and the energy blades clash with a loud cackling sound. However, Jyn feels herself being overpowered, for she feels resistance through her hilt. Vader pushes Jyn back by pushing her purple blade away with his red one, and Jyn is sent down to the floor, and she groans in pain.

 

“No!” Cassian yells as he raises his blaster and attempts to take another shot at Vader.

 

However, Vader counters Cassian before he can shoot by using a Force push on him, knocking the A280C blaster rifle out of his hands and sending him flying back farther than Jyn. He grunts in pain upon making impact with the cold hard floor.

 

Wanting to fight back, Jyn instantly stands up on her feet, and she dashes towards Vader. She swings her purple lightsaber, and the red blade clashes with each strike, and the purple blade blocks the red one in defense. Though, Vader begins to gain the upper hand by making faster, harder swings, causing Jyn to take many steps backwards while moving her lightsaber in the vulnerable parts of her body to defend herself.

 

However, the combat was all too much for Jyn. She got fatigued easily. She raises her lightsaber to take another swing at Vader, but this strike is slow enough due to her increasing fatigue.

 

Vader takes this chance to put Jyn in a Force choke, causing her to drop her lightsaber to the floor so that she grabs her throat, struggling to gasp for air, and her feet levitates a couple of feet off the floor. Vader takes a step closer to her, and he examines Jyn’s struggling body.

 

He finally speaks to Jyn in a low, dark tone through his mask filter. “….So you’re the one who sent those Death Star plans and caused its destruction.”

 

Jyn gasps for air, unable to say anything back to him.

 

The dark lord continues. “…..I can sense much fear in you, Erso’s girl. It troubles you…..and him.” He speaks in between the sinister-sounding inhales and exhales, while referring to Cassian as well since he notices Cassian’s unconscious body lying on the floor. Hearing those sinister words, Jyn’s eyes widen in horror. She continues gasping for air since she is unable to speak due to the Force choke, and she only watches Darth Vader in front of her.

 

Orson Krennic smiles as he watches in amusement. “Hahahaha…..” He chuckles. “How does it feel to be on the other side of the fight?” He says out loud, taunting Jyn.

 

“Perhaps, that fear can help you…” Vader says to Jyn as his last words before releasing the Force choke and releasing Jyn, which causes her to fall to the floor and cough for air, because Cassian finally regained conscious from the Force Push.

 

Cassian picks up Jyn’s lightsaber and activates its purple glowing blade. Feeling the rage in his blood, he charges towards the dark lord. “Yaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!” He yells as he brings the purple saber up with two hands, and he strikes at the dark lord. Vader blocks a couple of Cassian’s strikes before disarming him, making the lightsaber deactivate and fall to the floor. Vader puts Cassian in a Force choke, and he gasps for air.

 

“You….I sense much anger and fear in you. It seems…..” Darth Vader says to Cassian, but he examines Cassian much closer, pausing for a long moment as he holds the Force choke on the Captain’s throat. Vader can finally feel the senses and emotions in Cassian’s mind. “….it seems that your emotions are strong.” Vader says. Then, he looks over at Jyn, whose unconscious body lie on the floor near them. “Strong for Jyn Erso.” Vader finishes as he shifts his cold gaze back at the gasping Cassian.

 

Unbeknownst to Vader and Cassian, Jyn heard Vader’s taunting, intimidating words. Her reckless, aggressive ego came back to her instantly, and she wakes up. Jyn sits up from the floor and takes out her A180 blaster pistol, and she aims it at Darth Vader. “Cassian!” Jyn yells before pulling the trigger a few times. The red plasma bolts fly past Vader, with one of them hitting his arm.

 

“OOOOOOOOOOOF!” The dark lord groans in pain from Jyn’s blaster bolt, causing him to release & drop Cassian to the floor from his Force choke, and he places a hand over the blaster wound.

 

Seeing this sudden turn of the tables, Orson Krennic instantly takes out his DT-29 revolver pistol and holds it, though he doesn’t take aim yet.

 

As Cassian is sprawled up on the floor, coughing, Jyn quickly grabs her deactivated lightsaber from the floor near her, and she quickly stands up with the lightsaber in her left hand and her A180 pistol in her right hand.

 

Cassian looks up at the scene from the floor, clutching his throat with one hand. He yells when he notices Jyn standing up to retaliate. “J-JYN!!!!” He yells out Jyn’s name, trying to insist on not attacking anymore.

 

After a brief moment, Vader recovers from the blaster shot, and he grunts & raises his red lightsaber above his head, attempting to deal a strong overhead strike at Jyn.

 

Suddenly, a loud hum is heard behind Jyn & Cassian, and surprisingly causes Darth Vader to halt his strike at Jyn.

 

A blue glow pulses behind the two Rebels. Jyn & Cassian suddenly turn around behind them to see what happened.

 

Luke Skywalker appears, holding a blue-colored lightsaber. Its bright aqua-blue blade lights the area around them, and Jyn & Cassian watch in surprise as he takes a defensive stance in front of Darth Vader.

 

“Luke!” Jyn says with a surprised facial expression.

 

From the side, Orson immediately raises his DT-29 revolver pistol and aims it at the three Rebels. “Skywalker…” Orson mutters under his own breath.

 

Luke speaks to his fellow Rebel friends while keeping his focused gaze on Darth Vader in front of him. His face is blank: he is determined and serious. “Go with the leaders. I’ve got this…”

 

As Cassian picks up his A280C assault blaster rifle from the floor and stands up, he and Jyn become confused. “A-Are you sure!?” Jyn asks with hint of concern.

 

Luke doesn’t nod. He just keeps his eyes glued on Vader. “Have faith. I’ll deal with him. You two, go. NOW.” He stresses the last word of his sentence loudly.

 

Off to the side, Orson is hesitant about squeezing the trigger at Luke. However, a Death Trooper in black armor suddenly approaches him. “Sir, they need you near the frontside of the base immediately. It’s urgent.”

 

Feeling dismayed, Krennic groans loudly and holsters his DT-29 revolver. Then, he points a finger at Jyn & Cassian, who frown at him. “We’ll meet again. And you won’t be so lucky next time!” Krennic warns his two archenemies before exiting the landing platform to the main hangars.

 

“Come on.” Cassian says to Jyn as she pulls her along behind him. Jyn takes one last glance at Luke before entering through a door with Cassian.

 

Now, it is just Luke and Vader alone on the landing platform. The blue and red glows of their lightsabers light the entire area brightly. The two men stare at each other with mere seriousness and determination, as they try to figure out each other’s ability and skills.

 

“Young Skywalker.” Darth Vader breathes out through his mask. “We meet again.”

 

“You may have compromised this base. But the Rebellion still isn’t crushed. You made a big mistake coming here.” Luke says back.

 

Darth Vader comes back with words of his own. “The Empire has much bigger plans for your precious Rebellion. This is just the beginning.”

 

“I can stick around for the surprises.” Luke says as the final word.

 

More ground tremors & loud, violent explosions occur all over the base. The rock-like walls & ceilings begin to break down.

 

After a very long stare down, Luke charges forward as fast as a bolt of lightning. Feeling the intensity build up in him, Luke yells out at the top of his lungs, venting out the mad fury that wanted to be released from his chest. “RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Luke yells as he raises the blue lightsaber with both hands.

 

A loud clacking sound rings out. The blue and red plasma blades clash.

 

((()))

 

The door that Jyn & Cassian went through led to another hallway that was secluded from the other areas of the base. Upon running to the end of the hall, they arrive at a hatch.

 

“This hatch leads underground. All officers, even me, only know this escape protocol for the Rebel leaders. They probably went through here.” Cassian explains as he opens the hatch.

 

“Right.” Jyn says as she follows Cassian down into the hatch. It led to an underground complex with lights mounted along the brick-like walls.

 

“There should be a ship straight ahead. Let’s go!” Cassian says as he runs forward towards the light at the end of the underground tunnel, and Jyn follows him from behind. She aslo holsters her A180 and stores her lightsaber into her brown vest.

 

Upon exiting the underground complex, they reach the outside perimeters of the base, which is safely isolated from the site of most of the attacks by the Empire. Cassian sighs a breath of relief when he sees the transport ship containing the leaders & high-ranking officers of the Rebellion onboard. Mon Mothma appears, and she smiles.

 

“Well, what are you waiting for? Come on!” The woman insists in a positive tone as Jyn & Cassian shrug their shoulders and climb into the transport ship.

 

“I was wondering where you all were.” Cassian says after sitting down on one of the seats & laying his A280C blaster rifle against the wall of the cabin.

 

The transport shuttle takes off into space, just above the planetary body of Yavin 4. Everyone in the shuttle looks out the window in shock as they watch the Empire continue their invasion on their Rebel installation. Though, they are extremely sad and heavily affected by this sudden surprise attack, they intend to keep their heads high.

 

The transport shuttle soon arrives with the rest of the remaining Rebels fleet, which were preparing for the jump to hyperspace.

 

((()))

 

As the Imperial Stormtroopers search every single room for Rebel survivors, one of them reports to the man in the white uniform, Orson Krennic. “Nothing here, sir. Most of them already escaped by now.”

Orson Krennic nods and signals the Stormtrooper away from the office they are in, and he picks up something off from the desk. The desk has a name placard on it. It reads ‘Intelligence Officer. Captain, Cassian Jeron Andor.’ It is a photo. A photo of Rogue One.

 

Orson focuses on Jyn in the photo, staring at her beautiful, slim figure and her pose in the picture. Then he shifts his gaze to Cassian on the photo.

 

Orson Krennic fiddles & twirls the photo in his fingers, with his eyes now staring off into space. Dark thoughts & wonders scatter through his mind.

 

((()))

 

Curious about where they were going to go, Jyn looks up at Mon Mothma. “My lady, where are we going now?”

 

Mon Mothma removes her stare from the ship’s window and lays her eyes down on the young brunette sitting on the floor. “Hoth.”


	28. Echo Base

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stage 2: The Empire Strikes Back

**_ Stage 2: The Empire Strikes Back _ **

**__ **

**Chapter 28: Echo Base**

_1 month later_

It is a month later.

 

The remaining survivors of the Rebellion army has now settled in the icy, cold, snowy planet of Hoth. The Rebel installation there has multiple outposts for surveying & scouting the outskirts of the base for any foreign or hostile entity that were to approach the base with unknown hostile motives. Echo Base, as it’s called, is powered by huge generators just in the outskirts of the base, which were shielded by protective force shields. Of course, it took some time for the Rebels to adapt to the harsh cold temperatures & weather of the surrounding environment, for the Rebels were used to operations in warm or hot climates. Snow storms usually dominated the atmosphere almost every other day.

 

…Which was why Jyn & Cassian decided to change the exterior parts on their U-Wing to sustain the harsh weather and terrain.

 

Cassian, now 28-years-old, kneels down on the top of his U-Wing screwing several nuts off the roof with a hex socket wrench. He wanted to replace the exterior metal sheeting of the U-Wing’s roof with a much tougher metal material. Jyn, who is still 21-years-old at the moment, passes Cassian the upgraded part as he discards the old part. “Thanks. Can you come up here and hold the sheet down for me?” Cassian asks, gesturing his head at it.

 

Nodding, Jyn climbs up to the roof of the U-Wing using the ladder nearby and kneels next to her Captain, and she holds the big sheet of metal firmly so it can be stable while Cassian starts drilling screws into it. “Is this upgrade necessary?” Jyn asks as she watches Cassian drilling another screw.

 

“You know I’ll do whatever I can to maintain my ship.” Cassian answers her as he gives her a quick glance before grabbing another screw and proceeding to drill it in.

 

Jyn knew Cassian was obsessed about his U-Wing. She always wondered how he felt when his first U-Wing crash-landed on Eadu, causing them to return to base that night by stealing an Imperial transport shuttle. “Oh, really, Cassian? Then how is it I can stand up to this weather and not this ship?” Jyn asks.

 

Cassian stops drilling and looks at her in annoyance, like as if she was being idiotic. “Because you lived there.” He says, referring to the harsh cold, windy climate of Lah’mu, before finishing the last drill. He then hops off the U-Wing and lands on the floor, where he picks up a screwdriver and sits down on the floor to inspect the right side of the U-Wing. Jyn shrugs her shoulders and hops off too, and she stands next to him.

 

Jyn watches a few Rebel pilots walk by, transporting a payload of replacement blaster cannons for T-65B X-Wings.

 

“Can you hand me that compressor? I have to replace this.” Cassian asks, pointing at the small silver cylindrical part next to the crate full of replacement parts. After refocusing her attention to Cassian, Jyn grabs it and hands it to him; then, he starts on its replacement by using the screwdriver since smaller screws were involved.

 

“I’d like to think that I’m more capable than your ship.” Jyn says in an attempt to play with him. Cassian looks at her weirdly.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean? Is that supposed to insult me? Or my ship?” Cassian asks as he starts to get annoyed by Jyn. Jyn chuckles and shrugs off the topic, because she has confirmed that Cassian really is obsessed with his ship.

 

Off from the side, K-2SO appears to them. Jyn turns to him with her hand placed on her hip, and her head tilted slightly to the side. K-2SO stops right in front of Jyn: his tall figure causes the short young brunette to tilt her head all the way back just to lock up at him. “Captain. Your fellow Rebel infantries are inquiring about how to close the bay doors. It’s two of those rookies at it again.”

 

Jyn looks at Cassian, waiting to see his reaction. She sees that Cassian shook his head in annoyance and shifted his head to look at K-2SO from the U-Wing. “Goodness….just tell them to go back to sanitation! You close the doors!” He yells loudly in the main hangar of Echo Base before refocusing back to his part replacement task. Jyn chuckles softly as she looks back up at K-2SO.

 

“Yes, Captain.” K-2SO then looks down at Jyn. “He really keeps a bad temper, doesn’t he?” He says to Jyn.

 

Jyn smiles a dirty smirk up at K-2SO. “Pretty obvious.” She says.

 

Then, K-2SO bends down to lean in to Jyn’s ear. “I wonder what would happen if I slapped him right now…” K-2SO whispers quietly, to which Jyn laughs out loud. Because of her laugh, this causes Cassian to instantly look at them with a more annoyed facial expression.

 

“I heard that, droid! Go!” The grumpy Captain orders loudly, raising both arms.

 

Jyn laughs as K-2SO straightens up. “Here, go! Go!” Jyn whispers loudly at him while trying to hold in another laugh that is at the verge of bursting out from her lips. K-2SO then immediately turns and jogs off to the main control room.

 

A couple of minutes later, Jyn smiles to see Leia and Luke approach her, both dressed in white cold weather gear, with Leia having a different hairstyle than before: a couple of braided hair wrapped around the back of her head. Jyn is surprised to see Luke again, since the last time saw him was in Yavin 4’s base, which was under attack that time, and his encounter with Darth Vader, the dark apprentice of the Sith lord of the Empire.

 

“Luke!” Jyn exclaims with a surprised face. This catches Cassian’s attention immediately, and he sees the Princess and the young Jedi nearby. In a quick flash, Cassian drops whatever he is doing and runs to stand next to Jyn. “We wondered if you’ve survived the invasion in Yavin 4. How?”

 

Luke looks at Leia and shrugs his shoulders. “Well, it was luck. I managed to fend Vader off before the whole place went under. And I lost him from there. I flew out of there with my own X-Wing, and R2-D2.” He explains while eyeing both Jyn and Cassian.

 

“Hm…” Jyn responds, looking down at the floor. “…well, I wouldn’t want to face him again.” She mutters. This makes Cassian look at her curiously, wanting to know what she meant by that.

 

“It seems he wants to target me. I can feel this….this strong connection whenever I’m in his presence.” Luke says. Jyn shifts her eyes back at Luke again. She knows this ‘feeling’ that Luke mentioned. She felt it everywhere: near Cassian, whenever the Force spirits of her friends & family fade into her presence, and especially in the presence of the same hostile Luke encountered: Darth Vader.

 

After a moment of silence, Leia breaks it. “Well, we don’t want to disturb your preparations. This planet isn’t what we are used to.”

 

Cassian shakes his head. “No, Princess, it’s fine.”

 

“I’m just having a hell of a day today. Little scoundrel here wants to leave the Rebellion already.” Leia remarks, turning to her left to point a finger towards the other side of the aircraft hangar. Luke, Cassian, and Jyn turn to that direction to see the Millennium Falcon in view, along with Han and Chewbacca on top of it doing repairs.

 

Han waves his arms around at Chewbacca, yelling angrily. “No, idiot! This part goes in there, not here! You want me to do it, huh!?”

 

Chewbacca roars back in frustration as he angrily throws down a wrench at the floor.

 

“Han?” Jyn asks, watching the two Falcon pilots bicker over their own ship repairing tasks.

 

“Yeah…” Leia says in a gloomy tone, as she makes a mean glare at Han, unbeknownst to him.

 

Jyn thinks for a brief moment before asking. “….Why so mad, then?”

 

In a swift motion, Leia shifts her head to Jyn and shakes her head quickly, but to Jyn it looked fishy. “Nothing! I never said anything!”

 

Jyn tries her best to hold in a smile, because for some reason she could tell that Leia had a thing for Han Solo, just like how she had a thing for her Captain, Cassian. “Alright, Princess.” Jyn replies.

 

“We’ll get going. See you guys.” Luke dismisses after following Leia from behind.

 

Jyn & Cassian nod before returning to the U-Wing.

 

“Do you think Leia and Han….” Jyn starts off, but Cassian cuts her off.

 

“None of our business, Jyn. None of our business.” Cassian declares right off the bat.

 

“Great.” Jyn says softly.

 

Suddenly, Jyn is surprised to see that General Draven is the next one to approach them suddenly.

 

“General.” Both Jyn and Cassian greet Draven as they look at him directly in the eye.

 

“Good day, both of you. I came here to apologize to you, Sergeant Erso.” Draven says, focusing his eyes down on her. He notices Jyn raising an eyebrow, wondering what he is trying to apologize for. “I….I wanted you to forgive me for giving the squadron the authorization to bomb the Eadu research facility, which resulted in the death of your father. I know you still hold a grudge against me, Sergeant. I do not blame you. I realized, in the end, that he intended to have his terrifying project destroyed for the safety of the galaxy. He was a good man at heart. And….after your heroic efforts in Scarif and the recent events, it looks like I was wrong about you after all, Sergeant. However, I don’t blame you if you refuse to forgive me, Erso’s girl. You had, and have, every right to be angry.” Draven says humbly with innocent eyes.

 

After taking in Draven’s apology, Jyn looks at Cassian. Cassian stares into the forest-green eyes full of stardust, wondering what her reply is going to be. He expected her to bless mercy on the man. Jyn looks back at Draven, and she finally declares her answer. “I forgive you, General.”

 

She holds out a hand, and, much to Draven’s relief & content, he shakes her hand, therefore sealing the truce between them. “Thank you.”

 

Jyn’s lips form a small smile as she watches Draven dismiss himself.

 

After General Draven walks away, Cassian places a clenched fist on his hip and raises an eyebrow at Jyn. “Well, when did you start having heart for others?”

 

Jyn shrugs her shoulders and walks past him to go back to the U-Wing. “Beats me.”


	29. Reckless, Aggressive, & Undisciplined

**Chapter 29: Reckless, Aggressive, & Undisciplined**

_1 month later_

It is another month later.

 

And it is Jyn’s birthday: Jyn is now 22 years old. The young woman wasn’t fond of huge parties, given her rough past with Saw Gerrera and being a Lonestar throughout her teen hood. However, she is happy to get to spend her special day with Cassian, in Echo Base, of course.

 

Jyn has her arms wrapped around Cassian’s firm, muscular, warm torso as he has an arm draped over her shoulder, and they walk together down the hallway, with K-2SO following them from behind. Cassian holds a small glass of wine in his hand as he accompanies the birthday woman down the hall, with Rebels walking past them & greeting Jyn happy birthday, to which she nods & happily accepts with slight smiles back at them.

 

“Well, aren’t you woman of the hour now, yeah?” Cassian says before taking a sip from the glass of wine he got at the command room of Echo Base, where the Rebellion leaders also greeted Jyn her special day.

 

Jyn chuckles softly as they turn a corner to walk towards the main hangar. “It’s not something I’m familiar with.”

 

Cassian shrugs his shoulders. “But you were when you gave the galaxy a new hope. You can’t say you’re not familiar with that, right?” He looks at her.

 

Jyn sighs in annoyance and rolls her eyes at him. “You know my history, Cassian.”

 

“Okay.” Cassian immediately responds, realizing that Jyn isn’t used to big attention due to her solitary teen hood for lone survival.

 

As they reach the main hangar where infantries were patrolling & maintenance crew members were chatting with each other, they stop to see Han approach them. “Well, look who it is! Birthday girl.” Han greets Jyn in his own unique style by winking at her & patting her back hard, causing her to react with each pat. “I wish we could celebrate with fireworks, but that won’t be happening here, obviously, as you can see.” The smuggler says, looking around the hanger to reinforce his words, and it makes Jyn look around as well. She can see Chewbacca loading some equipment into their Millennium Falcon from the other end of the hangar.

 

“….Wasn’t my forte anyways.” Jyn says grimly.

 

“Well…I wish I could think of a better gift for you. It’s all I have.” Han says, pulling out a gold steel bracelet from his pocket. Its shiny luster caught Jyn’s eye, and she wanted it on her wrist already. Han places it on Jyn’s hand as she holds her hand out, accepting his little birthday present.

 

“Thank you, Han.” Jyn says as she slips the bracelet onto her wrist, where it partly hides underneath her brown fingerless leather glove.

 

With that, Han places a hand on Jyn’s shoulder, catching both Jyn & Cassian’s attention. “There’s many more things that I can be thanked for. It’s just no one’s ever seen them yet.” Han declares with a dirty wink. Jyn & Cassian give each other confused looks, and they both try to hold in chuckles. “Well, I need a nap. The old Wookie is driving me nuts!” Han says as he looks back at Chewbacca.

 

Cassian shakes his head. “When are you leaving?”

 

Han turns his attention back to the two Rebels in front of him. “After my ship is fixed and ready to fly. That is, if Chewbacca could actually help with the repairs.” Han stresses the last few words in frustration, though he sighs and waves at them. “Enjoy your day off.” Han says as he walks off.

 

Jyn nods before turning her attention back to Cassian. “What a scoundrel.” She comments about Han, repeating the name that Leia called Han when she felt dismayed about his decision to leave the Rebellion.

 

“We’ve already got one with us right now.” Cassian says, causing Jyn to give him a confused look because she is trying to figure out who he meant. “He’s standing right behind us.” Cassian finishes as he tries to hold in a smile. Jyn looks behind her and realizes who Cassian is referring to:

 

K-2SO.

 

“What!? Hey!” K-2SO exclaims as his yellow-lit ‘eyes’ glow brighter in tandem with his sensitive reaction. “I’m no scoundrel, Captain Andor! You’re a scoundrel! I don’t know why you keep calling me names!” K-2SO exclaims loudly before raising a hand, and he hits Cassian’s shoulder, for he is aggravated by it. Grunting from the hit, Cassian rubs his shoulder and frowns at the droid.

 

“Okay, sorry! I was just teasing!” Cassian apologizes as he watches Jyn rolls her eyes in annoyance.

 

‘ _What a git…_ ’ She thought.

 

“Hey, I need to get something in my U-Wing. I need my extra clothes in there. Can you hold this for me?” Cassian says. He hands Jyn his glass of wine so she can hang on to it for him, and she nods as she watches him walk towards the U-Wing with several conversing Rebels walking past him from all directions.

 

Jyn sighs out a breath. “He can be a pain in the arse sometimes.” She says after looking up at K-2SO, and he turns his gray head to look down at her short figure.

 

“He knows that if he gives too much heat on me, I will have the big slap on his face. Though, I don’t mind it. He really feels like we are brothers.” K-2SO says as he turns his gaze back at Cassian, and Jyn looks at Cassian from the distance too.

 

Suddenly, just as Cassian closes the cabin door of the U-Wing after retrieving his extra set of clothes to wear when he sleeps at night, his attention is caught by a woman climbing out of a nearby T-65B X-Wing. As the female pilot arrives on the floor, she shakes her head so that her blonde hair flips & waves around in the air. Seeing this blonde female Rebel pilot, Cassian smiles as his heart begins to race, and his eyes scan her slim tall figure from head to toe. Cassian liked what he saw….

 

“Well, hello.” Cassian says in a seductive tone. He leans his shoulder against the U-Wing and straightens up his posture so that he appears better to the female pilot.

 

The blonde female pilot smiles and places a hand on her hip, while pushing her hip out to the side so as to reinforce a seductive-looking stance. “Hi. Captain Andor, is it?” She asks.

 

Cassian’s heart skips a beat as he begins to feel a slight weakness in his knees. He was getting twitterpaited.

 

“That’s my name.” The 28-year-old Intelligence Officer says in a manly voice while raising one of his eyebrows to give a manly, seductive look at the blonde woman standing before him.

 

After a couple of minutes chatting, both Cassian and the blonde woman laugh, and Cassian places a hand on the blonde female pilot’s hip intimately as he pulls her in towards him slightly closer.

 

From the other side of the hangar, Jyn watches the scene. At first, she thought it was a dream. But, sadly, it is not. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her heart dropped to the bottom. It couldn’t be….

 

‘ _I…Is he….trying to cheat on me!?_ ’ Jyn asks herself in her head so aggressively, she thought she was speaking out loud. She could feel her free hand tightening into a fist. Turning to K-2SO, she asks him something. “Hey.” She says loudly, catching K-2SO’s attention. “Can you go over there and tell me what Cassian is doing?”

 

Wondering why she is asking him of this, K-2SO nods before walking off towards Cassian’s U-Wing. “Alright.” He says, and Jyn watches Cassian from afar with a frown.

 

“Hmm…..you doing anything tonight, Captain?” The blonde female asks seductively with a wink as she leans against her X-Wing.

 

“I’ve got plenty of time.” Cassian says back in a manly tone. He laughs as the blonde female Rebel pilot smiles and laughs with him. And suddenly, that is when he feels an eerie presence nearby. Cassian looks off to his left to see K-2SO standing there leaning slightly forward, eyeing him carefully. Confused, Cassian raises a brow. “What!?” He exclaims.

 

K-2SO just stands there for a very long moment. He stares at the blonde female, then at Cassian.

 

His internal central processing unit was registering what he was witnessing.

 

“…..N-Nothing.” K-2SO says in a soft voice that is almost inaudible to the two people in front of him. He turns around immediately to return to Jyn, who was on the other side of the hangar.

 

Cassian shrugs. “Huh. Strange…” He mutters before turning back to the blonde female and smiling at her.

 

With her arms crossed, Jyn taps her foot on the ground repeatedly, pacing through her impatience, until K-2SO finally returns to her. Her heart was racing: she wanted to know what Cassian was up to with that blonde woman, and it was making her nervous the more she waited & the more she even thought about it. Mostly, she’s never seen Cassian interact with any other female in the Rebellion other than the female leaders of the Rebellion. Sure, there were female Rebel soldiers too, but Jyn has never seen Cassian interact with any of them during her relationship with him so far.

 

“What is he doing!?” Jyn asks loudly and almost instantly, hence her impatience and growing suspicion.

 

K-2SO is reluctant to answer her, for she is staring into his lit ‘eyes’ with wide, anxious eyes. “Umm…..Cassian…..Cassian is umm……he told the blonde woman that he wants to go somewhere with her…..tonight. And he had his…..hand on her.”

 

Despite being a security droid made up of circuitry and computer components and cybernetic body parts, K-2SO knows exactly how Jyn was about to feel, because he can already see it.

 

As Jyn hears the reveal, she feels her heart drop. Her heart ached. She feels the world around her falling apart. She feels as though the shining light from the stars and the many suns have all faded away to pitch-black darkness. Jyn feels like a void is eating away at her, consuming her internal soul into the underworld. Jyn doesn’t realize it, but her free hand tightens into a very tight, firm fist, and her other hand gripping Cassian’s wine glass became stronger & tighter as well.

 

Jyn can feel the anger instantly rushing through her bloodstream. Her heart began to pound rapidly. Jyn was both sad & angered, but it was mostly anger that took over her nerves, as though the sadness drowned under the anger. She could feel herself drowning in her own misery, her own sadness, her own anger, and she needed to survive from it. She wanted to vent it. She wanted to release it. She wanted to avenge herself from this form of betrayal that was committed on her.

 

“J-Jyn? Are you…alright?” K-2SO asks nervously, taking a couple of steps back. Even he felt something is about to happen.

 

In a swift motion, the 22-year-old brunette slams Cassian’s wine glass down at the cold, ice-hard floor, causing a noise of breaking glass and creating a pool of shattered glass at the spot. This causes several heads to turn to her: and now she was the center of attention in the Echo Base aircraft hangar.

 

Jyn’s face is slight red. Her fists are balled tightly, looking like she is ready to fight someone. Her teeth become barred.

 

Jyn Erso’s true personality emerged. Her reckless, aggressive, undisciplined behavior erupted like a volcano. The undisciplined teen-aged Jyn Erso was alive inside the young adult Jyn. The reckless, aggressive, rebellious criminal awakened in her. Jyn Erso truly feels alive now, for her anger took over her completely.

 

The real Jyn Erso now revealed herself.

 

Stomping off to a random direction, she goes to a set of metal crates and grabs the first thing she sees within reach: a long metal pipe. And, in the blink of an eye, she raises the pipe and smacks it across the faces of a group of innocent Rebels near her.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The reckless, aggressive, undisciplined brunette female screams out from the top of her lungs as she hits them, making them groan in pain and fall to the icy floor. Other standing Rebels around her gasp in shock & horror as she proceeds to approach another group of Rebels.

 

Jyn whacks the group with the metal pipe, knocking them unconscious, with one of the men being hit in the scrotum sack with the metal pipe. Jyn’s anger was doing its damage, much to Jyn’s growing relief.

 

Cassian’s attention suddenly turns to the direction where Jyn’s angered yells were ringing out from. He has a confused look on his face, and he wondered why she was screaming and why there were men’s grunts accompanying her screams. “What’s going on…?” Cassian mutters under his breath as he excuses himself from the blonde female pilot and runs towards where the commotion was taking place.

 

As Cassian arrives at the other side of the hanger, he stops in his tracks, and his eyes widen in shock & surprise to see Jyn whacking Rebels across the face with a metal pipe. He became very confused the moment he saw her reckless, hostile behavior. Suddenly, yells are heard from behind him, and he turns around to see a few Rebel security guards armed with blaster pistols running towards Jyn. Wanting to halt them from apprehending Jyn, Cassian swiftly runs towards her.

 

As Jyn took one final smack to another Rebel’s face, she feels a firm hand on her shoulder that turned her around to face someone: Cassian.

 

“JYN! What the hell are you doing!?” Cassian yells out angrily as he grabs ahold of Jyn’s arm that grasped the metal pipe to prevent her from whacking him with it.

 

Jyn’s breaths were rapid and shallow. Her heart races quickly. Her fists were as tight as ever. She looked up at the pair of confused, angry chocolate brown eyes staring down at her with an angry face. Cassian could tell she is angered, and he realizes how dangerous Jyn can become, given her background. He read her file when he first met her before their mission in Jedha.

 

This was the Jyn Erso the file described.

 

Since Jyn doesn’t answer and only stares up at him with an angry facial expression and rapid, angered breaths, Cassian decides to release his hold on Jyn’s arm as the Rebel security guards surround them and point their blaster pistols at Jyn, which were set to stun mode rather than lethal kill mode.

 

Jyn just looks up at Cassian angrily.

 

Cassian raises a hand at the security guards. “Wait! Wait.” He says to them, and they nod, allowing him to proceed with his activity.

 

“What’s wrong?” Cassian asks Jyn in a soft, quiet, gentle tone so he doesn’t aggravate her further.

 

But it did not matter. Jyn Erso was just like her mother, Lyra Erso. When they got angered, they stayed angry. And their behaviors were ruthless. Very…..very…..ruthless. Like mother, like daughter.

 

Everyone around them watched in disgust, shock & horror, with some female Rebels having a hand over their mouths.

Suddenly, Jyn drops the metal pipe to the floor, creating a clanking sound that resonated through the cold air in the aircraft hangar. Jyn lets her fists hang down both sides of her thighs as she stares up angrily at her Captain: her betrayer.

 

After a very long moment of silence between them, in the blink of an eye, Jyn raises her hand and delivers a very strong smack across Cassian’s face. Hearing the smack sound ring out through the air, some Rebels gasp as Jyn angrily watches Cassian place a comforting hand on his slapped cheek. He felt her true anger on his cheek, through her hand. This is how he knows that Jyn is truly the reckless, aggressive, undisciplined girl that he read about.

 

“YOU ARE WHAT’S WRONG!!!!!!” Jyn screams out angrily, pointing a finger at him. Then, she turns away from him and begins to walk away swiftly.

 

The 28-year-old Captain now felt the pressure. He felt the guilt putting the pressure on his shoulders. He felt stupid. He realized why Jyn was angry and why she relentlessly beat up innocent Rebels with a metal pipe: she thought Cassian was cheating on her, on her own birthday. He knows he needed to resolve this issue.

 

Cassian turns to the security guards. “I’ll deal with her. Stand down, please. Sorry.” He informs them before jogging off, and they nod in response and lower their blaster pistols.

 

Cassian runs down a hallway filled with snow, attempting to chase Jyn, who was fleeing away to the quarters that they both shared together. “JYN! WAIT!” He yells after her.

 

((()))

 

Cassian finally arrives in him & Jyn’s quarters. He walks through the door and sees Jyn sitting down on their bed sobbing, with her hands covering her face. He knew how aggressive she is, and he knows he needs to approach her slowly. So he does just that: he takes steps towards Jyn slowly and gently, with each step as light as a feather. He eventually gets to an arm’s length away from Jyn, and he attempts to get her attention.

 

“Jyn?” He says nervously.

 

Jyn instantly stands up from the bed and turns around to face him with red, tearful wet eyes over a face of pure anger. Cassian could definitely see the mixture of sad & anger on her face. It was very obvious, and he sensed that it could be a long while before she would calm her nerves down.

 

“Jyn….I…..I’m sor-“ Cassian begins to apologize, but Jyn cuts him off by pointing a finger at him.

 

“HOW DARE YOU….” Jyn says in a very serious tone while not yelling this time.

 

“Jyn, it was just…..” Cassian starts again.

 

Jyn raises her voice now. “HOW DARE YOU!”

 

Cassian stays quiet and looks down at the floor, sparking a very long moment of awkward silence between them, with Jyn staring up at Cassian with her angered/sad green eyes.

“…..AFTER ALL WE’VE BEEN THROUGH! WHY WOULD YOU? WITH THAT….WOMAN!?” Jyn says loudly with wide angry eyes that had wet tears in them.

 

Cassian finally manages to overpower his voice over hers. “IT WASN’T GOING TO BE LIKE THAT!” He yells at Jyn.

 

“Oh, really?” Jyn says, shrugging her shoulders while more tears stream down her angered face.

 

Cassian takes a step closer to her and places his hands on her shoulders. “Jyn, look, I’m sorry.”

 

Jyn scoffs as she wipes some tears off her cheeks. “Sorry? I’ve known many sorry people before the Rebellion. Like hell, you’re sorry, you git!” Jyn exclaims, referring to her rough past.

 

“I’m sorry it looked like that, especially since it’s your birthday!” Cassian blurts out in frustration.

 

YEAH! MY BIRTHDAY, CASSIAN! MY OWN BIRTHDAY!” Jyn raises her voice loudly, stressing the occasion loudly in Cassian’s face before shoving his hands away from her shoulders. Cassian sighs in dismay as he looks at her with sorrow. Jyn continues to speak to him. “After all I’ve told you about my past….about what I’ve been through…..and you want to be with….her!? I thought I was going to be the only woman for you…” Jyn says as a tear releases from her eye.

 

Cassian stays quiet.

 

“I-Is this….is this what you do with women!? You play them, one by one, and move on to the next? Is that what you spies do!?” Jyn questions Cassian aggressively as she glares angrily at him with mean, scary eyes.

 

Cassian becomes confused and surprised at the same time. “What!? A spy? How did you know I’m a spy? I never told you.” He says to her.

 

Jyn nods while keeping on her pissed off expression. “Oh, yes, Cassian…I know the qualities spies hold. I know their instinct. So what’s it going to be Cassian, hm!?” She begins to raise her voice. “Is the damn blonde bloke the next one in your life!?”

 

Cassian widens his eyes as he shakes his head in denial. “Uh…no! Of course not, Jyn! I……I-I’d never do that to you! You know that!” He argues.

 

After a very long moment of silence between them, Jyn comes with another sentence of hers. “Don’t you see!?” She asks, causing Cassian to think in deep thought. “I’ve got no one! No one but you, Cassian!” Jyn yells angrily with tearful eyes.

 

Hearing her words ring loudly into his ears, Cassian feels the guilt weighing down on his shoulders. He knows he is in the wrong. He felt truly sorry for himself. He felt stupid, he felt like an idiot, and he felt like smacking himself in the head. He wanted K-2SO to do it for him. He notices Jyn shake her head at him and turn away from him so that she is facing the wall and her back is faced towards him. He approaches her back and places a hand on her shoulder firmly enough, because Jyn attempts to shrug off his hand.

 

“Leave me….alone.” Jyn mumbles quietly while crossing her arms.

 

Those words struck Cassian like a bomb. He wanted to cry. But he couldn’t do it in here. He wanted to be alone so he can swallow his sorrow and his guilt in private as his self-punishment. But he loved Jyn so much, he would never leave her. He would never turn to another female. Jyn Erso is the true one for him. He knows Jyn will have to forgive him at some point, but he knows he has to give her space. Cassian whispers quietly behind Jyn’s head. “Your heart belongs to me…..as mine belongs to yours. I love you, Jyn. I’m so sorry…” He apologizes with a whisper, and he places a gentle kiss on the hair on the back of Jyn’s head before taking his hand off her shoulder and leaving their quarters.

 

With Cassian out of their room, Jyn continues to sob as more tears flow down her face, and she brings a hand over her mouth. Her eyes suddenly shift over to a photo of her & Cassian in each other’s arms smiling on his desk. She loved the man so much. Ever since her first lover, Hadder Ponta, died in Skuhl, she waited & searched for so long to find the perfect man to replace his presence. She looked all over the galaxy for the one to fill the empty void that could help fix the broken pieces inside her damaged soul. Cassian Andor is the one she chose for that role.

 

Jyn wipes some tears away as she looks up towards the ceiling, and she whispers to herself. “Hadder….what do I do?” She whispers her deceased first lover’s name sadly.

 

Because of Cassian’s attempt to cheat, she wanted to punish him, yet she wanted to forgive him just as much. Her heart ached badly.

 

It ached for Cassian.


	30. Search & Rescue

**Chapter 30: Search & Rescue**

“I know you can behave better than that, Sergeant Erso!” Mon Mothma raises her voice, trying to discipline the young undisciplined female Rebel sitting at the other end of the round table in Echo Base’s command room: Jyn Erso. She is having a talk with Jyn as a result of her reckless behavior earlier when she physically assaulted other Rebels as a reaction to Cassian’s act of cheating.

 

Jyn just stares at her boss with cold eyes.

 

“Jyn, going around hitting innocent people isn’t going to solve your anger issues.” Mon Mothma lectures her female Rebel soldier, Jyn. “Whatever it is that is upsetting you, you need to find other, non-lethal ways to resolve it, perhaps. I think that’s a better deal, yes?”

 

Jyn frowns at Mon Mothma for a moment before accepting her statement and nodding. “Yes, madam.”

 

“If you do anything like that to our Rebels again, our guards will have to detain you until you are relieved of your anger. Are we clear?” Mon Mothma says, giving Jyn a hard stare directly to the eyes.

 

Jyn nods.

 

Mon Mothma shakes her head slowly. “It’s a shame this incident had to happen on your birthday. I wouldn’t want you in a brig cell on your special day. You’d better be glad I’m sparing you the trouble.”

 

Jyn nods again. “Right. Thank you…”

 

After a moment of silence between them, Mon Mothma nods and gestures towards the hallway that led out of the command room. “Dismissed.” She ends the conversation, and she watches Jyn get up from her chair and exit the command room. Mon Mothma then sighs and looks over at General Draven. “Reckless, aggressive, & undisciplined, isn’t she?”

 

Draven nods, confirming Mon Mothma’s question. “Exactly. That’s what her records described.”

 

Mon Mothma looks off to the side, thinking for a moment. “Well….I do like those traits of hers. They make the perfect Rebel.”

 

((()))

 

After her discussion with Mon Mothma in the command room, Jyn soon arrives in the main hangar area, where she usually hung out and where her outrage took place earlier. As she walks, she sees Rebels taking a couple of steps back with faces of slight fear, for they are afraid of her dangerous behavior and potential to attack them from out of nowhere. Though, Jyn didn’t care. She was like that, and she loved it most of the time. She ignores their reactions to her presence, and she keeps walking through the hangar. Suddenly, Cassian appears from the side, causing Jyn to stop walking and give him a cold stare that meant that she is still angry with him.

 

Cassian knew she wasn’t in the mood to talk with him after what he did earlier: conversing with & groping another female Rebel. Cassian gulps as he attempts to speak to her. “I’ll just…mind my business.” He says softly as he begins to walk past her, tensing his abdomen muscles in case she would try to punch or knee him in the stomach. Jyn just stares at him with a glare, not saying a single word to him.

 

However, before Cassian can walk more than a few feet away from her, the sound of Han yelling at someone caught their attentions. They turn around and see Han raising his voice at a security guard, who is responsible for keeping headcount of all Rebels patrolling the outside perimeters of Echo Base. Jyn & Cassian frown at the conversation as they take a step closer towards Han and the security guard.

 

“What do you mean you didn’t see him!?” Han asks loudly, staring at the guard furiously.

 

“Umm….well, ever since he left to perform the probe droid investigation, he hasn’t returned in the past few hours.” The security guard claims nervously.

 

Han points a thumb behind him. “Well gather a unit and send them out there to look for Luke! It’s getting dark out there!” He yells & commands the guard.

 

“R-Right away, sir!” The security guard acknowledges before running off. Han sighs and faces the two Rogue One members in front of him.

 

“What happened? Where’s Luke?” Cassian asks curiously, tilting his head slightly while keeping on a frown.

 

“While on patrol duty, Luke had a sighting of a surveillance probe droid in the outskirts. It’s not ours, so it may be Imperial. He hasn’t returned since, and the snow storm’s picking up. I’m about to go help look for him before it’s nightfall.” Han explains.

 

Snow storm. Nightfall.

 

Those were the last things any Rebel on Hoth needed on the list of nuisances.

 

Jyn & Cassian take a quick glance at each other, with Jyn’s face still containing a hint of anger at him, but she contained the urge to physically attack him or anyone else like Mon Mothma instructed her.

 

“You kids want to help? It’ll be much faster the more people we have out there. The snow storm is getting stronger by the minute, so we’d better hurry.” Han says, shrugging his shoulders.

 

Cassian looks at Jyn, trying to find acknowledgement of the task on her face. He smiles slightly as she nods to accept Han’s request for assistance in finding Luke out there in the snow storm.

 

“Of course, Solo. Besides, that’s our job.” Cassian replies with a slight smile.

 

Han nods. “Good.” Then, he turns around to grab a couple of devices from nearby metal crates, and he tosses them to Jyn & Cassian. They catch the devices and examine them in their hands. “You’re going to need these.” Han states. “The storm is pretty heavy, so you’ll never see anything coming at you. You should be able to spot anything out there with that.”

 

Cassian nods in curiousty and looks over at Jyn, who looks up from her device and gazes into Cassian’s eyes. “Let’s find Luke.” He tells Jyn.

Jyn nods without saying a word to him.

 

((()))

 

**_“Search & Rescue”_ **

**_1900 hours_ **

**_Rogue One_ **

**_Sgt. Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso_ **

**_Snow dunes, Hoth_ **

The three searchers were on their Tauntauns, armed with blasters, and they were dressed in white thick infantry uniforms designed for cold, snowy terrain. The winds blew hard, the billions of particles of snow raced past them, and the cold freezing temperatures sent chills down their spines every second. The gray skies were getting dark since it is early evening, though a quarter mile ahead of their sights is still visible.

 

Jyn & Cassian held their blasters in one hand, with Jyn armed with her A180 rifle-configured blaster and Cassian armed with an A280C assault blaster. However, both of their blasters had devices attached to them: the devices Han provided earlier. They were portable radars with small screens that sensed any living or electrical being within a 50-yard radius around them, hence why Han said they would need it in this strong snow storm.

 

“I thought I saw something over there.” Han says through his microphone mounted on his ear, since the sounds of the cold strong winds overpowered everyone’s words; they were all wearing ear-mounted microphones.

 

Jyn & Cassian look on their magnetic field sensors to see a red dot pulsing ahead of their current position. “Move in.” Cassian says as he has his Tauntaun proceed slowly forward towards the area where the unknown entity is. Jyn and her Tauntaun follow from behind.

 

Suddenly, Han, Jyn, & Cassian hear a faint ambient noise ahead. Then, they see a dark, small figure floating in mid-air. It had a small spotlight searching the area around itself.

 

“Probe droid spotted.” Han informs, stopping his Tauntaun. “It didn’t spot us yet. Take it out before it does.” He says through his microphone.

 

Jyn & Cassian take aim with their blasters, raising the iron sights to their eyes. With a deep cold breath, they pull the triggers and blast the probe droid out of the air.

 

“Let’s keep moving. Try heading west from here. The wind is blowing in that direction towards the hills.” Cassian advises, pointing in the direction that the snow blew.

 

“Good idea.” Han says before having his Tauntaun turn & move west.

 

Cassian leads the way, with Jyn following behind, and Han following behind her, watching their back for any entity that might approach them from anywhere.  Suddenly, Jyn’s portable sensor beeps, and she looks at it to see two red dots to the right of their current position. “To our right. Two of them.” She warns, raising her blaster.

“Look alive.” Han says as he raises his DL-44 blaster pistol.

 

They eventually see two probe droids this time through the heavy snow.

 

“Take them out.” Han declares. In an instant, the three Rebels fire their blasters at the two probe droids, with one of the droids almost spotting them with its spotlight. The droids explode and are destroyed. “That was close.” Han says with a sigh of relief.

 

“Yeah. Look, the storm’s picking up. We got to move faster. Let’s keep heading west. These probe droids seem to appear the more we go towards the wind’s direction.” Cassian advises as he looks at Jyn and Han.

 

“You lead the way, Captain. I got the rear.” Han assures his teammates as he looks behind him, trying to see if anything was following them.

 

A few minutes later, they travel down a giant slope with their Tauntauns until they reach flat ground, and the snow picked up more force than before. Their hats were almost blowing off their heads because of the increased wind speed. Their goggles were getting obscured with snow, and they were getting foggy. As they proceeded west, Jyn’s portable sensor started beeping rapidly, catching her attention immediately. Three dots appeared on her radar from behind them.

 

“Behind us!” Jyn warns as she turns her Tauntaun around to raise her blaster.

 

Han & Cassian do the same & raise their blasters at the incoming probe droids. The droids’ spotlights shined on them, and they were opening fire with their integrated blasters.

 

“Jyn! Watch out!” Cassian warns Jyn as he gets in front of her. The three Rebels open fire at the hostile probe droids. Red blaster bolts flew everywhere, with some bolts flying into the sky and some bolts hitting the snow on the ground. But eventually, all three probe droids were down and on the ground and out of commission from the blasters of the three Rebels.

 

“Good catch, girl. These droids are starting to become annoying.” Han comments.

 

Cassian smirks. “As annoying as Chewie?” He asks.

 

Han smirks back at him. “Don’t let him hear you say that.” He remarks, making Cassian chuckle. “Okay, let’s keep going. It’s getting colder by the minute. I can feel my feet freezing already.” Han says as he has his Tauntaun run forward, and Jyn & Cassian follow him from behind through the heavy snow storm.

 

After what seemed like an endless search, they are finally surprised when they see that a blue dot appears on their portable sensors. It is motionless. And it didn’t appear to be hostile.

 

Jyn’s eyes widen as she looks up from her blaster’s lifeform sensor to see two dark figures in the abyss of snow ahead: one looked like a Tauntaun laying on the snowy ground, and the other figure looked like someone laying with it. “Could that be Luke!?” She asks, pointing towards the figures.

 

Han and Cassian squint in her direction to focus on the figures ahead of them. “I think it may be. Let’s help him.” Han advises. They proceed forward towards Luke and his Tauntaun.

However, their attentions quickly turn back to their lifeform sensors, because it starts to beep rapidly. A red dot approaches them from the side, and it was coming in fast. They hear that it had loud footsteps. They concluded that it was a huge being.

 

“Incoming!” Cassian yells. However, he suddenly finds he and his own Tauntaun knocked down to the snowy ground before he could raise his blaster. Cassian grunts as he lands on the snow, and blood bursts from a couple of cuts on his forehead. Jyn’s eyes widen as she sees a quick glimpse of the entity attacking, and she groans as she, too, is thrown into the air before landing in the snow.

 

“Look alive! A Wampa!” Han yells as he raises his DL-44 blaster pistol at the Wampa, an enormous, white yeti-like creature that inhabited the cold, icy, snowy planet Hoth. Han shoots, sending blaster bolts zooming at the Wampa as it roared loudly with its arms raised, and his blaster shots were able to damage the Wampa, but only slightly, for its strength was too great. After roaring loudly in pain, the Wampa swipes its arm swiftly and strongly, making contact with Han’s shoulder and sending him to the snowy ground as well and incapacitating his Tauntaun.

 

Jyn crawls towards Cassian, who struggles to get himself up off the ground due to his forehead injuries inflicted by the big scary creature. “Cassian…” She whispers, though it is inaudible under the loud ambient noises of the heavy winds blowing snow. She senses the Wampa behind her, because its steps were loud enough due to its huge foot size, and it was getting progressively closer to Jyn.

 

As the Wampa grabs Jyn by her legs, he throws her a couple of yards away through the air, sending her flying and crashing to the snow again. Jyn groans in pain and clutches her arm. However, through squinted eyes and blurry vision, she notices a small cylindrical silver object fall out of her brown vest and exposed next to her. It is within an arm’s reach, and she tries her hardest to gather the strength to grab it.

 

Cassian props himself on his elbows, and he is dazed from the Wampa’s first attack. All he saw in his sight was the ground full of snow, and his vision was blurred. He groaned from the throbbing pain in his head, and he felt he couldn’t have the strength to get up and fight back.

 

As the Wampa approaches Cassian to finish him off, it raises its arms to attack. Suddenly, a loud activation sound rings through the air, and a bright purple glow lights the area around them. Cassian sees the purple glow from the reflection in the snow, and this makes him turn over to see where it came from: Jyn has activated her purple lightsaber, and it caught the Wampa’s attention, for it halted its striking blow on Cassian. In a swift motion, Jyn takes her lightsaber and slices off both of the Wampa’s arms. It cries out loudly as both limbs fall to the snow with blood dripping from its exposed blood vessels. Jyn stares coldly at the Wampa as it turns around to flee the scene.

 

Cassian and Han were wide-eyed and surprised by Jyn’s amazing retaliation with her lightsaber because the Wampa could’ve finished them off.

 

Han points at Jyn. “Now, that……was some nice stuff, girl.” He comments before standing up on his feet and making sure his Tauntaun is alright.

 

Jyn deactivates her lightsaber and stores it inside her brown vest, then she walks past Cassian. Though, she doesn’t bother to help Cassian up on his feet, which Cassian already expected as her initial action. He eventually helps himself up, and he thanks her anyway. “Thanks…” Cassian says out loud, which Jyn ignores, of course.

 

The three Rebels approach an unconscious Luke Skywalker, who lay next to his dead Tauntaun, since it was killed by another Wampa a couple of hours ago. Han kneels down next to him and attempts to shake him awake. “Luke! LUKE! Come on, wake up, kid!” Han yells at the unconscious young man, though it is no use. “Agghh……he’s knocked out cold!” He tells Jyn and Cassian. They both sigh in dismay. Cassian looks around and notices the skies became dark.

 

“It’s about evening already! It’s probably not safe to go back to the base in this storm!” Cassian advises as he holds the hood of his thick white jacket.

 

Han nods. “We’ll have to lay low right here until morning then!” He says as he grabs Luke’s lightsaber from his belt and activates its blue glowing plasma blade. Wanting to provide Luke some warmth from the snowy wind storm, Han slices open Luke’s dead Tauntaun with his lightsaber, and the contents of its guts spill out, much to Jyn & Cassian’s disgust. Han places Luke inside the Tauntaun’s belly before leaning himself against it. “Here you go, kid. That’s doesn’t feel that bad now, right?” He says before deactivating the lightsaber and attempting to fall asleep.

 

Cassian watches as Jyn returns to her own Tauntaun and lays next to it with her arms crossed. She is shivering from the extremely cold temperatures of the cold planet. And they were to stay there on the spot until morning where the snow storm would subside completely. Though, Cassian felt very ashamed for what he did to Jyn earlier in the hanger that caused her outrageous behavior to other people, Cassian loved her very much, and he felt he owed it to her to keep her warm in this storm.

 

Cassian proceeds to lay right behind Jyn, and he wraps his arms around her tightly. Though, Jyn wanted to shrug him away, she felt the great warmth of his body & his jacket. She needed it so badly. She wanted it. She wanted him. She was still mad at him, but she still needed him at that moment, and forever. She didn’t know why, but she realized she just saved Cassian from the Wampa, and she knew it felt like a favor to give back to him after everything he has done for her. She lets Cassian’s embrace her as both of them drift off to sleep in the heavy snow storm through the night.

 

((()))

 

The next morning, the skies cleared, and the snow storm dissipated out of the atmosphere. The three Rebels could see all around them now: there were dunes of snow and snow mountains in the distance. The blue skies covered the planet, giving them bright clear light to see the environment. And now, they were waiting for an aerial rescue squadron to locate them and bring them in for extraction.

 

Some time passes, then a T-47 speeder eventually flies right past them slowly like birds. Jyn, Cassian, and Han all wave at the pilot in the airspeeder in an attempt to reveal their location.

 

The pilot of the T-47 airspeeder speaks to Jyn, Cassian, and Han through her commlinks. “Han Solo? Jyn Erso? Cassian Andor? And Luke Skywalker. I’ve got your location! Boy, how I’m glad to see you guys. I’ll return to base and get an extraction team on the way as soon as possible! Standby.” The pilot informs them as he turns the speeder around high up in the sky.

 

“Thanks! I owe you one!” Han replies back to the pilot through his commlink.

Suddenly, Jyn turns Cassian around to face her. He looks down at the forest-green eyes in surprise since she had barely interacted with Cassian the day before. He waits for her to say something, but all he could see is Jyn with a face full of sorrow. Eventually, she talks to her Captain. “Cassian….I-I’m sorry.” She says softly.

 

Cassian knew that not only she was sorry, but he was sorry as well. It was his fault to begin with in the first place, and he promised that he will never ever do that to Jyn again. This was the moment for both of them to release the emotions contained in their chest, and come together as one again. They didn’t want to do this to each other. It was already too painful enough. “Me too.” Cassian says with a smile.

 

Jyn wraps her arms around Cassian and buries her face into his chest, and Cassian returns the embrace with an arm wrapped around her shoulders.


	31. The Assault Horizon

**Chapter 31: The Assault Horizon**

The alarms were blaring loudly. The P.A.’s voice rang out through the entirety of the Rebel’s Echo Base with a warning message. Rebels scattered throughout the base, grabbing their weapons and gear. Pilots suited up and hopped into their T-47 airspeeders. All Rebels in Echo Base were preparing.

 

Jyn & Cassian check their blaster pistols as Mon Mothma speaks to them in the command room. “The Empire has found us again, and they are already attacking! They have walkers! We need all aircraft up in the skies now!” She says to them, and they nod as the begin to make their way quickly to the main hangar. “We cannot let them destroy those generators!” She yells out behind them.

 

“They keep finding us.” Jyn mutters as she follows Cassian into the aircraft hangar, where all pilots were taking off with their T-47 airspeeders. The Empire invading their territory again reminded Jyn of the days when she was being tracked by Imperial forces as a teenager when she forged Imperial documents & codes during her travels throughout the galaxy. But nevertheless, she needed to take the fight back to the Imperials.

 

The two Rogue One members reach a 2-seater T-65B X-Wing: this particular X-Wing was custom-built, with an extra seat right behind the pilot’s seat for a navigator to sit. Cassian wanted Jyn as his navigator when he takes to the skies. As Cassian climbs aboard with the ladder, he reaches out a hand to Jyn to help her climb into the cockpit, into the seat behind him. The two Rebels quickly buckle in and close the cockpit window. Turning the key in the ignition switch in front of him, Cassian starts up the X-Wing, with its wings in cruise mode.

 

Cassian waves at the signal man waving red-lighted rods, signaling for Cassian to take off immediately. “GO! GO! GO!” The signaler yells.

 

Without hesitation, Cassian lifts the X-Wing into the air, and in a smooth motion, the air fighter exits the hanger in a blast with its four thrust vector and zooms towards the bright aqua-blue sky.

 

**_“The Assault Horizon”_ **

**_0745 hours_ **

**_Rogue One_ **

**_Cpt. Cassian Jeron Andor_ **

**_Outpost Beta, Hoth_ **

 

Jyn looks down below her. She sees the battle already escalating: Rebel troops were crouched in the small trenches, utilizing the safety of cover as they fire back at the incoming Imperial Snowtroopers coming in from the snow hills in the north. Then, Jyn notices there is no astromech droid in the astromech chamber behind her,at the rear of the X-Wing. “Cassian? Don’t you need an astromech? Maybe R2-D2?” Jyn says as she looks at Cassian through the mirror mounted above him.

 

Cassian rolls the X-Wing and turns it to head towards the battle grounds. “Don’t need one. I have you.” He says as he looks in the mirror and gives Jyn a playful smile. Jyn smiles back at him.

 

Blaster fly past everywhere. Bolts hit the snow hills. Stationary turrets unleash their firepower towards the incoming AT-STs. Rocket launchers lased rockets at the Imperial AT-AT walkers, which did only slight damage. The Battle of Hoth was underway.

 

Cassian shot down a TIE fighter as it was trying to shoot its blaster cannons at a fellow Rebel pilot.

 

“Thanks for saving my butt, Captain!” He says.

Cassian scoffs. “And you’d better save mine next!”

 

The Captain then sees an AT-AT walker ahead shooting at a trench containing a bunch of Rebel troops. A few of the troops got blown away, with their bodies sent flying high into the air before landing on the snow. Determined to save these Rebels and take down the walker, Cassian lowers his X-Wing near the surface of the ground. The onboard automated system detects his low altitude and warns Cassian with a voice. “WARNING. PULL UP.” The computerized female voice announces. However, Cassian decides to ignore it.

 

“Cassian, be careful!” Jyn says loudly with widen eyes. She is afraid of what he was going to do.

 

“The harpoon cables will only slow these speeders down.” Cassian explains. “I have an idea.” He says with a dirty smirk, and Jyn frowns because she is curious.

 

As Cassian’s X-Wing’s wings unlock into attack mode and approaches the AT-AT walker at a high speed, Cassian flips on a switch to activate the proton torpedo launcher. A loud beep rings out. Cassian adjusts the X-Wing’s flight path so that he is directly aligned with the AT-AT’s front legs. Then, on the onboard HUD, a red square highlights the AT-AT’s two front legs with a loud red beeping noise. Cassian says out loud. “Target locked. Firing!”

 

With the push of the trigger button on the flight stick, two proton torpedoes lase out of the X-Wing’s proton torpedo launchers, and they seek their way to the front legs of the walker. In the blink of an eye, an explosion occurs, destroying the legs of the AT-AT and causing it to collapse head first into the ground & incapacitating the Imperials inside it. The Rebels in the trench near it applaud loudly as Cassian’s X-Wing flies past the destroyed walker like a hornet chasing its prey. Its loud engine roars in the sky, overpowering all the cheerful applauses of the Rebels.

 

Cassian pitches the X-Wing upwards to gain higher altitude in the sky to survey the battle site.

 

“Nice shot, Captain.” Jyn comments as she looks down at the ground too.

 

Cassian speaks into the microphone in his helmet. “K-2SO, how are you doing up there?”

 

K-2SO was in their U-Wing high up in the clouds, where he was overlooking the entire battle site to notify the leaders in the base’s command room about the ongoing activity taking place. “I’m safe and sound, Captain. There are only a few walkers left, and the Rebel garrison is depleting, however.”

 

“We’ll have to take out the walkers. It’s the best we can do right now. Stay safe up there, yeah?” Cassian says before turning the X-Wing around.

 

“Of course.” The KX-series security droid replies.

 

Suddenly, Jyn and Cassian see green blaster bolts fly right past them from behind. Jyn looks on her onboard radar and sees a red dot behind the center point which was their X-Wing.

 

“We got a TIE behind us, Cassian!” Jyn says with her heart racing.

 

Cassian scoffs and has a dirty smirk on his face, which Jyn notices in the mirror. “I got him.” He declares in advance. In a split second, Cassian pulls a lever down on the controls in front of him, causing the X-Wing to come to a slower speed. The TIE misses with its blaster fire as it zooms right past Cassian’s X-Wing from below them, causing the TIE pilot to look around in confusion. The red square on the onboard HUD locks onto the TIE fighter and makes its beeping noise. “Firing!” Cassian says as he releases a proton torpedo and some red blaster fire from the X-Wing. The blaster bolts and the proton torpedo successfully make contact with the TIE fighter, destroying it in the sky instantly.

 

“Target down. Nice flying, Captain.” Jyn says, impressed with Cassian’s maneuver, for she has never seen any other Rebel pilot take down an enemy in the skies like that before.

 

“That’s just tip of the iceberg…” Cassian mutters with a slight dirty smile as he pushes the throttle lever to increase speed again and continues to fly his X-Wing around.

 

However, Jyn frowns in concern when she notices that the Rebel garrison has already diminished, and the remaining Rebels were retreating to the inside of Echo Base. The AT-ST walkers and the two remaining AT-AT walkers were dominating the battlefield, and the Imperial Snowtroopers were already outnumbering the Rebels & advancing towards the frontal entrances of Echo Base. The AT-AT walkers have already done heavy damage to the shield generators of Echo Base now.

 

“Cassian, our troops are retreating suddenly!” Jyn warns Cassian, with fear rushing into her blood.

 

Cassian frowns in confusion as he witnesses it too. “What!? D-Did we lose already!?” He asks out loud as his thoughts wander in his head. He realizes this will have been the second time since his resurrection that the Rebellion gets defeated by the Empire. His thoughts came to a close as the sound of Mon Mothma’s voice comes through the speakers in his helmet, making him focus back into his flying.

 

“Captain, our forces are diminishing! We can’t risk losing anymore aerial fighters out there! Get out of there and evacuate into orbit!” The leader commands her Intelligence Officer.

 

“Evacuate….” Both Jyn & Cassian mutter under their breaths as they stare at the fleeting Rebels in shock.

 

((()))

 

Suddenly, an object unexpectedly arrives straight from the sky, above the center of the entire battle zone. It is coming at a very high speed, and it then releases a very, very bright white light. The object looked like a….

 

Suddenly, one of the Rebel pilots in a T-47 airspeeder in the skies speaks through to every pilot remaining, including Cassian. His voice has a serious tone to it. “Ballistic missile in the area detected. Incoming!”

 

Cassian looks around the cockpit swiftly, his full attention now caught and his heart racing, giving him a boost of adrenaline. “Ballistic missile!? Where!?”

 

Jyn looks around also, confused as to what they were saying. “A…missile?”

 

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the ballistic missile detonates in midair.

 

There is a flash of white light in the skies.

 

And then, in the next moment, a dark green cloud aura of gases suddenly engulfs the area. To Jyn & Cassian’s increasing surprise, they see that all the remaining Rebels still on the grounds dropped their weapons and were twitching & screaming in pain. Jyn then covers her mouth and gasps as she witnesses several of the Rebels’ bodies & faces physically melting and deteriorating up to the point that they were unidentifiable.

 

However, all the Imperial Snowtroopers remained unaffected by the gas.

 

This stirred up much confusion and fear in Jyn and Cassian.

 

“DID YOU SEE THAT!?” Jyn exclaims loudly with widen eyes of shock as she continues to stare at the dying Rebels.

 

Cassian shakes his head as he frowns at the terrifying sight. “W-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?!?”

 

“Mother Superior, are you seeing this!?” Cassian refers to Mon Mothma through the comms.

 

After a very long moment with no response, Mon Mothma finally answers him. “Yes. I…I’m not sure…..what just happened.” She stutters as she speaks. Cassian knew she was afraid and shocked as well because he could definitely hear the sense of fear in her voice. It was the first time Cassian heard Mon Mothma scared.

 

“Why are the Imperials still standing then!? What the hell is going on!?” Cassian yells out to Mothma in the comms. However, she couldn’t come up with an answer.

 

Jyn looks at Cassian through the mirror mounted in front of him. “Cassian….those Rebels….their faces…just….” She struggles to speak a full sentence since she is still in shock. She has never seen an airborne attack like this before. The only bombing attack she saw was from Y-Wings at Eadu, but she’s never seen an airborne attack like this, with a ballistic missile releasing a cloud of an unknown gas causing slow, excruciating deaths.

 

“I-I know….” Cassian replies in a quiet voice, still in shock by what they had just witnessed.

 

Eventually, Mon Mothma speaks to Cassian. “Our spotters suggest that the ballistic missile was launched from the north. We need someone to investigate, and destroy the source if necessary. We will get our troops evacuated immediately. We can’t risk any more aircraft to be taken down. I trust you do this impromptu solo investigation, Captain Andor?” She asks and waits for him to answer.

 

Hesitating, Cassian looks at Jyn in the mirror. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to do it. It sounded very dangerous: much more dangerous than their entire operation in Scarif. But, Jyn nods at him, urging him to accept the unexpected solo operation. And he agreed. All that mattered is they were together wherever they went. “Yes, madam.” He finally responds as he turns the X-Wing to head north.

 

“After you’ve completed your mission, rendezvous with the rest of the Rebel fleet in space just above Hoth’s orbit. May the Force be with you.” She says before cutting off communications and leaving the command room with the other leaders and the accompanying guards.

 

“Yes….may the Force be with us..” Jyn mutters quietly to herself as she stares out the cockpit’s window, still in shock.


	32. A New Terror

**Chapter 32: A New Terror**

The X-Wing’s engines worked smoothly & calmly, cruising at a constant speed in the extremely cold, blue skies. It is early morning, and the golden morning sunshine lit the entire sight before it. Cassian flies the X-Wing over the Jedi Straits: a cold, distant sea full of icebergs & glaciers. The Jedi Straits were a long 100 miles away from Echo Base, where the Rebellion sustained another humiliating defeat by the Empire. But Cassian’s X-Wing had enough fuel to take him & Jyn across the glacier-filled sea.

 

Jyn & Cassian look around them: they see icebergs, snow, and glaciers in the dark blue waters below them. Jyn feels chills being shot down her spine. With every breath, her exhales were visible from the cold temperatures both inside and outside the X-Wing cockpit. Jyn thought, being alone in this vast cold sea gave her an eerie feeling…

 

Cassian breaks the silence after almost a 2-hour flight since their departure from the now Imperial-conquered Echo Base. “This place…..it gives me the creeps. How about you?” He says with a trembling voice indicating that he is shivering from the extremely cold temperatures of the icy environment outside.

 

Jyn continues to stare out towards the golden morning sunrise, where the sun’s golden rays reflect off the ocean waters brightly. “My mother used to tell me stories about the Jedi….when I was little.” She says, which Cassian finds interesting. “She says she believes these straits were where the Jedi originated from….” Jyn says in a gloomy and nervous voice due to the eerie & creepy feeling that she was getting just from flying above the sea.

 

Cassian thinks for a moment about what Jyn said, while surveying the icebergs and the numerous glaciers that inhabited the cold ocean waters below them. “So this is where the Jedi originated? This is where they were born? The Jedi Straits….” Cassian says as he exhales a deep breath that became visible as vapor due to the cold air inside the X-Wing’s cockpit.

 

“Hmm. Yeah…” Jyn says as the hairs behind her neck stand up because of the increasing awkwardness her body gathered. Then, she realizes something that she decides to suggest to Cassian. “Hey, we need to keep our eyes peeled. I feel there is something hiding here somewhere. It’s best if we go low and slow.” Jyn suggests to her Captain.

 

Cassian pushes the joystick upwards so that the X-Wing descends downwards. “Good idea. All these icebergs are making me feel like some giant will come out and take us out.” Cassian mutters as he focuses his attention directly in front of him. He lowers the X-Wing so that it is flying about less than 1000 feet above the surface of the sea. However, this gets Jyn curious.

 

“I said low, but not too low, Cassian.” Jyn mentions with a frown.

 

“Flying below 1000 feet makes it harder for enemies to spot us on radar in certain conditions like this. All Y-Wings do this in bombing runs. The sea allows for smoother cruising at a very low altitude too.” Cassian explains with a slight smirk.

 

Jyn scoffs before her lips form a tiny smile in reaction to her Captain being the wise geek. “Okay, Mr. Know-it-All. Just don’t kill us.” Jyn says playfully while warning Cassian not to fly too low above the water, or else the X-Wing will crash and kill both of them.

Cassian flies the X-Wing across the cold, eerie Jedi Straits, maneuvering the aircraft by yawing left & right to fly along a smooth path to avoid the many icebergs and glaciers that were in the way.

 

“Hang on, Jyn.” Cassian says.

 

Jyn nods as she leans in to her seat.

 

Cassian pushes a lever forward, which is the throttle lever. It causes the X-Wing’s four thrust nozzles to burn a brighter, more intense purple flame, and the X-Wing instantly gains speed. The great increase in speed causes pressure from the g-force introduced through the acceleration, causing Jyn & Cassian to be pushed back in to their seats, with their stomachs pushing against them & giving them a tickling feeling in the core. The speed meter reads ‘767 mph.’ Suddenly, a huge cloud of condensation appears on the cockpit’s windows, but disappears in the blink of an eye. After that sudden moment, the two Rebels couldn’t hear the X-Wing’s engines anymore. It is now completely silent inside the cockpit.

 

Jyn and Cassian just broke the sound barrier with a sonic boom while flying at a speed of mach 1, or 767 miles per hour.

 

Though, the ‘silent’ flight lasted for a few minutes before a beeping noise suddenly rings out from the controls in front of Cassian, and Cassian looks down at the radar to see a red dot just a couple of miles ahead of their position. His eyes frown, for he is unsure about whether or not this unidentified entity could be the source of the unknown ballistic missile that murdered over 500 Rebel troops earlier that morning. Jyn notices the beeping sound too and leans forward to look over Cassian’s shoulder from behind at the radar.

 

“Jyn!” Cassian says.

 

“What is that?” Jyn asks with furrowed brows.

 

A voice speaks through the speakers in Jyn and Cassian’s flight helmets. It is a male voice, and they recognize the voice to be General Davits Draven. “Rogue One! Come in, Rogue One!” Draven calls out to them through the comms.

 

“Yes, General? What is it?” Cassian responds.

 

“I am here, safe with the rest of the remaining troops in the space fleet. I will be your eye in the sky for this small solo operation. Our service crews installed tracking modules on every aircraft we have here on Hoth. We’re tracking your aircraft in real time. We’ve just spotted an unknown object ahead of you from the looks of your radar.”

 

Cassian pauses for a moment to look up at the mirror above him to give Jyn a look. They both knew something wasn’t right about the unknown object in front of them. Cassian speaks back to Draven. “I know, sir. We’ve spotted it on radar, but we don’t see it in our actual sight….” He says, squinting his eyes over the great brightness of the sunlight shining directly towards them.

 

Jyn tries to see anything in the sea waters ahead of them, but they both find nothing. The red dot, however, is still showing up on the X-Wing’s onboard radar scanner, and is getting closer to their position by the second.

 

However, Jyn & Cassian don’t hear from Draven for a long moment.

 

“General?” Cassian tries to get Draven’s attention.

 

After a long moment, Draven suddenly speaks through the comms with a serious loud tone. “Captain! We’ve just intercepted a signal broadcasting near you! It appears to be Imperial! They are communicating with a third party!”

 

Jyn & Cassian look at each other through the mirror in confusion. “W-What!?” They both exclaim simultaneously with frowns.

 

**_“T-65B X-Wing sighted on radar. It appears to be Rebellion.” One of the Imperial troops in the control room says, looking at the radar._ **

****

**_“We cannot let anyone interfere with our experiment! Begin ascent, and shoot it out of the sky! Give it everything we’ve got onboard this vessel!” An Imperial officer commands the other troops._ **

 

As the X-Wing approaches a large circle-shaped ocean basin about 10 miles in diameter, Cassian’s eyes widen as he suddenly sees something emerge from the waters ahead. It appeared to be an Imperial submersible vessel armed with weapons designed for combat at sea. Cassian’s heart raced, for he now sees that the submarine is the source of that terrifying weapon used against his Rebel forces earlier.

 

“Jyn! Look!” Cassian yells, pointing a finger at the submarine.

 

Jyn sees it, and her eyes widen with shock as she shakes her head in reaction. “A sea vessel!?”

 

Draven suddenly yells out through the comms, which hurt Jyn and Cassian’s ears in the process. “LOOK ALIVE! That submarine just spotted you on their radar! It’s about to break surface and attack you! Evade!” Draven warns in horror.

 

With both of their eyes widened in shock and their hearts pounding rapidly in fear, Jyn & Cassian tried the best they could to gather their courage and face the submarine alone. As the Imperial submarine ascends and eventually appears above the surface of the sea, it immediately launches proton torpedoes and blaster cannons at Jyn & Cassian’s X-Wing flying in the sky.

 

With his quick expert pilot reflexes, Cassian pulls the throttle lever down to quickly decrease the X-Wing’s speed, causing its engines to be heard again from the cockpit due to the engine sound travelling at their speed again. As an orange trail of light homes in on them, Cassian immediately pitches the X-Wing upwards to fly towards the sky, evading the proton torpedo in the process. Now that they were high up in the sky, Jyn and Cassian believed they had an advantage over the Imperial submarine. It is time for them to bring down the submarine that killed 500 of their fellow Rebels with the unknown deadly missile.

 

 

((()))

 

**_“A New Terror”_ **

**_0945 hours_ **

**_Rogue One_ **

**_Cpt. Cassian Jeron Andor_ **

**_Jedi Straits, Hoth_ **

****

Cassian flies towards the Imperial submarine at a very high speed. Green blaster bolts from the submarine’s turrets fly past the X-Wing, but Cassian fires his own blaster cannons at the submarine, taking out some of their turrets in the process. The X-Wing zooms past the submarine from above with a super-fast fly by, with its engine sounds roaring loudly past the submarine. After finishing the run, Cassian pitches the X-Wing towards the sky to gain altitude and turn around for another run attack.

 

However, the radar beeps rapidly, indicating a warning signal that meant they were being locked on to.

 

“Cassian, we’re locked on! Evade!” Jyn warns Cassian, who nods without hesitation. She looks behind her to see a proton torpedo being launched from the submarine, and it seeks straight towards them. With quick reflexes, Cassian rolls the X-Wing off to the side to evade the projectile, and he returns a proton torpedo of his own after the red square on his HUD locks-on to the submarine. The torpedoes travel towards the motionless submarine, and it makes contact with two of the proton torpedo launchers, destroying them.

 

“Launchers destroyed! Turning around!” Cassian yells out as he zooms past the submarine, while evading blaster fire from it, and gaining altitude to make another turn.

 

As Cassian makes another turn, he decides to stay high up in the sky, where the submarine’s proton torpedoes and its blaster cannons were out of range. This makes Jyn curious. “W-What else can you do!?” She asks.

 

Cassian flips on a switch in front of him, and a loud beep rings out from the controls, indicating that the X-Wing has switched weapons to an unguided free-falling ground bomb. “Just enough from my sleeve.” He gives a dirty smirk as he looks down at the submarine. “Let’s see what these can do.” The 28-year-old Captain says as he pushes a red button, and four unguided ground bombs suddenly release from the belly of the X-Wing. The two Rebels watch the bombs fall freely down the sky and towards the submarine, where they eventually explode upon impact on the top of the submarine’s body.

 

After some of the flames dissipate, Jyn notices that one of the most important components of the submarine has been destroyed by Cassian’s ground bombs. “Cassian, look! I think you’ve destroyed their diving ability!” She informs Cassian as she points at the submarine below.

 

“That should stop them from diving below surface for a reload. We got the advantage now.” Cassian says as he maneuvers the joystick to point the nose of the X-Wing towards the submarine, having it fly down towards the waters.

 

**_“HOW THE HELL DID THEY SNIFF US OUT!?” The most superior Imperial officer onboard the Imperial submarine exclaims out to the other officers angrily. “THE EMPIRE WILL BE DAMNED IF THIS VESSEL GOES DOWN!”_ **

**_One of the troops approaches the control room from another part of the submarine. “Sir, they’ve destroyed the vessel’s ballast tanks! We are unable to dive below the water!” He informs them in distress._ **

****

**_The superior officer screams out at the top of his lungs. “THEN WHAT’S THE POINT OF HAVING THE BALLISTIC GAS MISSILES ONBOARD IF WE DON’T USE THEM AGAINST THE REBEL AIR FIGHTER!?”_ **

****

**_The trooper is suddenly confused. “Huh? But, sir….the missiles are being reserved for the Rebel ground garrisons.”_ **

****

**_The superior officer screams at everyone in the control room. “I DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THEM RIGHT NOW! FOCUS ATTACKS ON THAT X-WING! USE UP ALL THE MISSILES IF YOU HAVE TO!” He yells angrily with angered eyes and blood pumping through his veins rapidly, his blood boiling hotter with every breath of rage._ **

****

**_The trooper hesitates for a moment, before eventually nodding in response nervously. “Y-Yes, sir. Right away.”_ **

****

Before Cassian could launch another proton torpedo at the submarine, something launches from the top of the submarine and zooms straight up high into the aqua-blue cloudless sky. It then emits a very bright white light: the very same light that was seen at Echo Base.

 

Jyn & Cassian’s eyes widen in surprise as they watch the ballistic missile being launched from the Imperial submarine. “CASSIAN! ANOTHER MISSILE!” She screams loudly while shaking Cassian’s shoulder. Cassian begins to get nervous now: his breaths start getting shaky with every nervous breath visible from the cold temperatures, and he was starting to get hesitant about where to maneuver the X-Wing. Suddenly, they hear Draven’s voice emit from the speakers in their helmets.

 

“This is Draven! The submarine just launched the same ballistic missile we saw at Echo Base! They’re going to use it against you!” The General yells out. By the tone of his voice, Jyn & Cassian can tell he was afraid of losing his two Rebels out at sea: in the eerie Jedi Straits.

 

Cassian shakes his head swiftly. “W-WHERE DO WE GO, DAMN IT!?”

 

“The green cloud of gas at Echo Base didn’t extend beyond 5000 feet! Fly above 5000 feet to avoid its deadly effects!” Draven advises them before going off comms.

 

“5000 feet….” Both Jyn & Cassian mutter under their breath at the same time. Cassian then proceeds to aim the X-Wing up straight towards the sky, where he pushes the throttle at full speed. The resulting strong g-force pushes the two Rebels into their seats as they stare up at the sky from the cockpit, where the blue sky becomes bluer by the second, and the X-Wing’s engines roar loudly behind their cockpit.

 

As Cassian begins to aim the X-Wing back down at the submarine and start descending at it again, Draven appears on comms. “We’re tracking your aircraft in real time. We’re assuming that submarine has more than one missile to use against you. Time your attacks carefully before the submarine launches its ballistic missiles at you. Sink it before it could do any more damage to our forces!”

 

Acknowledging Draven’s advice, they go up into the skies and, eventually, reach 5000 feet above the surface level of the cold oceans & the sea of glaciers and icebergs. A green flash occurs all over the area, and after Cassian levels the X-Wing, he and Jyn see that the unknown green cloud of gas engulfed the atmosphere above the Imperial submarine, with the submarine being unaffected by its explosion, which seemed unusual just like how the Imperial Stormtroopers at Echo Base were unaffected by the gas. The green cloud explosion was very huge and hot, like hot lava raining down.

 

After the detonation, Cassian takes no time to aim the X-Wing down towards the sea, towards the submarine. He pushes the throttle at high speed, causing the g-force to push he & Jyn back into their seats. When the X-Wing gets closer to the submarine, the red square on the HUD locks on to the submarine & the beeping noise rings out. “Firing torpedoes and ground bombs!” Cassian yells out as he pushes the red buttons in the controls in front of him, releasing proton torpedoes and unguided ground bombs at the submarine all at the same time. The explosive projectiles finally make contact with the submarine with a large series of explosions, destroying nearly all of its weapons. And, to add to the injury, Cassian delivers several blaster cannon shots at the submarine’s body as well before ascending above it.

 

“You’ve damaged it! It’s down to its last legs, Cassian!” Jyn informs Cassian as she examines the submarine from above, surprised at how much damage Cassian inflicted on it in such short time.

 

**_“SIR, WE’VE SUFFERED MAJOR DAMAGE! ALL OUR WEAPONS ARE NON-FUCTIONAL! WE ONLY HAVE THE BALLISTIC MISSILES!” One of the officers exclaims in fear while clutching his head._ **

****

**_“ALL THIS DAMAGE FROM ONE X-WING!? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?” The superior officer questions in anger as he throws his hat down. “THAT’S IT! LAUNCH ALL BALLISTIC MISSILES AT IT! EVERY SINGLE ONE!”_ **

****

**_“But, sir…” One of the troops objects softly, but the superior officer cuts him off._ **

****

**_“DO IT NOW!!!!!!” The enraged superior says._ **

****

Jyn looks down below at the submarine, but her face frowns when she notices that several ballistic missiles were being launched from the submarine one-by-one, and they zoom straight into the skies above. “CASSIAN! MORE MISSILES!” The young Sergeant yells out with wide eyes of shock.

 

Cassian’s eyes widen in shock too as he watches the missiles spread out in all directions. “Shit!” He curses loudly.

 

General Draven’s voice buzzes loudly in their ears. “More ballistic missiles are being launched! ROGUE ONE, LOOK ALIVE! THEY’RE HEADED YOUR WAY!”

 

Without hesitation, Cassian once again pitches the X-Wing up towards the sky and pushes the throttle so that the X-Wing accelerates up at 5000 feet above sea level.

 

In just a matter of ten seconds, the entire sea glows a very bright white, due to the white lights emitted from the group of ballistic missiles launched into the sky. In an instant, a very loud explosion occurs, and a very huge cloud of dark green gas covers a much wider radius than the single ballistic missile. Again, Jyn & Cassian and the Imperial submarine remains unaffected by the explosion.

The submarine has used up all of its weapons, and all of its missiles. It is now unarmed.

 

“Cassian!” Jyn gets his attention. “One more strike should do it!” She says while giving Cassian an assuring look in the mirror above him. Cassian nods at her before descending the X-Wing towards the submarine one last time.

 

As Cassian’s HUD locks on with the submarine, Cassian takes a deep breath. He inhales calmly. Then he exhales a confident breath. He proceeds to push the red button in front of him, and two proton torpedoes lase from the X-Wing’s launchers. The torpedoes home in on the submarine, and they make impact with it, delivering one final blow that sent the submarine finally sinking to its end.

 

After witnessing the defeat of the submarine and its Imperial crew inside of it, Jyn & Cassian both sigh big breaths of relief. They sit back into their seats, relaxing for a bit as the X-Wing’s wings changed into cruise mode, and the X-Wing flies at a slow steady speed. It is quiet for a minute until Draven’s voice is heard in the comms.

 

“Imperial submarine destroyed. Mission accomplished, Rogue One. Good work.” Draven declares in an assuring voice. “That should keep the Empire from diminishing our ground troops in the blink of an eye. That was…..terrifying……but we should be safe. At least, for now.” Draven says with a hint of doubt in his voice.

 

Cassian nods. “Yeah…..for now.” The Intelligence Officer mutters under his breath, watching his visible breath in front of him.

 

“Proceed to make the jump to hyperspace and meet with the Rebel space fleet.” Draven commands them before cutting off comms.

 

**_“It looks like the best fleet has been defeated, Commander.” One of the Imperial troops says as he clutches his abdomen from a shrapnel that pierced him due to the explosions inflicted by Cassian’s X-Wing._ **

****

**_The superior Officer remains quiet._ **

****

**_The trooper speaks again. “Maybe it was because of…..your arrogance and your overconfidence that got us the loss?” He says nervously, trying to anticipate the reaction of his superior._ **

****

**_Though, the superior Officer shakes his head slowly as he looks down at the floor, which was flooding with cold sea water. “Maybe something’s trying to tell us our time is up…”_ **

****

**_Another injured trooper speaks. “The Jedi.”_ **

****

**_Realizing they were operating in the Jedi Straits, the superior officer confesses something that surprises the entire crew. “Whoever’s in that X-Wing…..they are the real Jedi, not us.”_ **

****

((()))

 

Suddenly, a very bright green flash appears behind Jyn & Cassian, which catches their immediate, urgent attentions. They immediately turn around in their seats to sight whatever it was that caused the bright flash of light. Though, at first, they thought they saw another green gas explosion from a ballistic missile, but they were wrong.

 

What they see is a bright green laser beam striking the destroyed submarine, and it appears to be originating from some unknown place beyond the blue skies.

 

Yes. BEYOND the blue skies…

 

Jyn & Cassian watch in shock and confusion as they watch the submarine explode into smithereens before the green laser beam from high above the atmosphere slowly fades and vanishes in thin air. Upon witnessing the incident, the two Rogue One members look at each other in confusion.

 

“D-Did you see that!? What the hell was that!?” Cassian asks in shock.

 

Jyn shakes her head, not knowing the answer to that. “I don’t know, but it does look familiar…” She says, but her sentence fades away because she’s thinking of something: something familiar. She knows she’s seen that green laser beam before.

 

“That green laser beam…” Cassian mutters loud enough that Jyn hears him. After thinking for a moment, he finally realizes why the green laser beam looked so familiar.

 

“The Death Star?” Jyn mutters loudly as her heart freezes in shock & fright.

 

The green laser beam. Jyn & Cassian saw the Death Star shoot its green laser beam at Scarif’s data archive complex: the place where they died in their first lives. And now, this green laser beam completely destroyed the submarine for them. However…this green laser beam did not cause such a 100-mile radius of massive earth destruction. It was only powerful enough to sink down the submarine and leave the surrounding waters intact.

 

It was very unusual.

 

Afraid that the green laser might be tracking the X-Wing next, Cassian pushes the throttle lever all the way forward so that the X-Wing accelerates to full speed past 767 miles per hour, creating a sonic boom, a cloud of condensation around the X-Wing, and a ‘silent’ flight as the X-Wing zooms across the waters, now heading south.

 

“That looked like the Death Star’s laser. Could there be…..another Death Star?” Cassian mutters as his eyes mesmerize into a shocked state.

 

Jyn couldn’t believe it either. “Another….D-Death…S-Star?” She stutters, because her heart now races nervously. She became afraid now. She is in shock and confusion. They destroyed one Death Star, but now there was another one?

 

A lot of questions were being raised in Jyn’s and Cassian’s heads.

 

Was there really another Death Star? Was the green laser beam from this other Death Star? Or was it from something else? Why was that submarine secluded in the middle of the Jedi Straits by itself? And why was it being run by Imperials? Where would the Rebellion’s next base of operations & refuge be?

But the most important question that bothered Jyn and Cassian was: What were the green gases in the ballistic missiles, and why were Rebels being killed by it and not Imperials?


	33. Flash Forward

**_ Stage 3: Return of the Jedi/Battlefront 2 (2017) _ **

**Chapter 33: Flash Forward**

_1 year later_

Refugees.

 

Refugees in hiding.

 

That’s all what the Rebellion was after the Battle of Hoth: refugees on their last legs, hiding in the unlimited depths of the galaxy, of the universe. And that’s what the Rebellion has done for the entire year since their huge defeat on Hoth.

 

It is a year later, and the Rebellion is on the edge of their greatest survival of the last remaining Rebels. Over time, the Empire has conquered other parts of the galactic system. Their evil reign of terror has caused horrifying and very negative impacts on all things and all people in the galaxy. Because of their imperialism, it caused a huge decline in the support of the Galactic Empire and has spread the encouragement of bringing down the Empire more than ever.

 

Reflecting back to the past, it did not take long for Rebel intelligence teams to deduct that, after Jyn & Cassian’s encounter with the Imperial submarine & its destruction on Hoth, it was indeed destroyed by a light intensity laser beam from the cannon of the Death Star II.

 

Yes. The second Death Star.

 

Jyn & Cassian were horrified & shocked once they were revealed the identity of the green laser beam that destroyed the submarine, though no one still knows why the Death Star II would destroy one of its own vessels. They couldn’t believe that another Death Star was already built by the Empire, this time without her father, Galen’s, assistance. She figured this new version of the Death Star had a different weak point than her father’s Death Star did, which meant they had to find a way to destroy it.

 

Meaning….

 

Jyn, Cassian, & K-2SO must go through the exact same troubles they did a couple of years back to get the plans that resulted in their untimely deaths. Because of this, Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO all felt that the work they had done, the lives they sacrificed on Scarif, was all for nothing.

 

Sad.

 

But it was a good thing Leia reminded the three remaining Rogue One members that they still had hope in a possible victory and a peaceful future. She reminded them that there was still hope: hope for a chance that the Rebellion might somehow take down the Empire once and for all, because Leia revealed to Jyn, Cassian, & K-2SO that the plans to the Death Star II were obtained & sent by a group of Bothans, who had the same fates as they did on Scarif.

 

Well, that was a huge relief for the three Rogue One members. That news saved them the big trouble.

 

However, it took Rogue One several days to assess the news before accepting the fact.

 

After the Battle of Hoth, when Luke got healed and back up on his feet, Jyn & Cassian were curious about where Luke was travelling to, since they watched him pack things in his personal bag inside his X-Wing. They remember Luke telling them that he had to go to a planet called Dagobah to train with a Jedi Grand Master named Yoda.

 

But Luke wasn’t the only one who left, temporarily. Han Solo and his furry Wookie companion, Chewbacca, were also the ones to leave the Rebellion, and actually leave it. Although they left, Han & Chewie’s departure only lasted a short while, because some technical issues with the Millennium Falcon caused Han to take it to the planet Bespin to have a friend, Lando Calrissian, fix it as an owed favor.

 

More so, Luke came to his friends’ rescue, but ended up facing Darth Vader in Bespin in a lightsaber duel before eventually, and unexpectedly, getting his hand cut off by Vader’s lightsaber. Ouch. Despite the defeat in the fight, Luke managed to escape and be rescued. All while Luke fought Vader, Han got frozen in carbonite by Vader and his Imperial forces, and so he was shipped to Jabba the Hutt in Tatooine.

 

A few months later, Luke came back, not as a Jedi Padawan, but as a Jedi Master. He spent sleepless months trying to locate the whereabouts of Leia, the carbonite-frozen Han, Chewbacca, and Lando, eventually finding them on Tatooine under Jabba’s control & captivity. But of course, being the masterful Jedi he became, Luke was able to defeat Jabba’s thugs and save his friends.

 

And that left Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO.

 

During the one-year gap, Jyn, now 23-years-old, & Cassian, now 29-years-old, spent all the time they could with each other. They knew that being in each other’s presence was the only thing keeping them alive and bonded closely together. The close, intimate relationship that they had developed over the past couple of years was something that they both hoped wouldn’t be taken away by the Empire’s reign of terror. Though, they, of course, had their KX-series robot K-2SO as their makeshift bodyguard nearby at all times.

 

While Luke and the others were mostly out in the other parts of the galaxy, Jyn & Cassian spent the whole year onboard the Rebel fleet ships together, getting to know each other more, which went both quite well and quite bitter, sometimes. However, their minds still had the thought of the Death Star II lingering inside, and the possibility of the Rebellion’s survival & the Empire’s permanent defeat still wandered through their thoughts. But Cassian told Jyn one time not to worry. He comforted her, telling her everything will be alright and to trust the Force, like her mother, Lyra, told her 15 years ago. Jyn didn’t forget that she still had her mother’s kyber crystal necklace around her every second of every day, and she prayed that, should she and Cassian face another tragic inevitable death, that they both get revived again.

 

Though, Jyn figured the kyber crystal had its limits though. She knew no one is immortal. She felt there was still a mystery about her kyber crystal that she still hadn’t discovered yet….

 

((()))

 

Up to the present day now, Jyn follows Cassian and K-2SO from behind as they make their way to the ship’s briefing room, because Leia is about to brief the entire fleet on the upcoming operation: the Battle of Endor. Apparently, intelligence teams have sighted the Death Star II setting up shop near the moon of Endor, with Imperial troops stationed in the vast forests on Endor. Whatever the Empire was planning on Endor, they must be stopped.

 

Rogue One arrives in the briefing room and focuses their attention on Leia as she stands in the middle of the room with a holographic image device showing the Death Star II and the battle site of their operation on Endor.

 

Wearing a green camouflage uniform and an accompanying green infantry hat, Leia speaks loudly for everyone to hear. “Alright, listen up, laser brains! I’ll make this briefing short & quick so we can get out there on the double.”

 

Jyn stifles a laugh as Leia says that, which Cassian notices.

 

“The Empire’s second Death Star is near Endor’s orbit, and it is awaiting further operations by its Imperial ground units to be completed before commencing any further destruction to the moon itself, or to our fleet in any worse case. However, the Death Star cannot be penetrated by our fleet’s weaponry until the remote shield generator on Endor is disabled and destroyed.” Leia explains as the holographic image device cycles between several views of the Endor area of operation and the Death Star II scale model.

 

“Your mission is to deploy on Endor and disable that shield generator by any means necessary. We cannot let that Death Star run loose! Are we clear, everyone?” The Princess says as she stares coldly at every one of her Rebel soldiers around her in the briefing room, including Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO.

 

In a loud, harmonic amplitude, the voices rang out in the air. “YES, PRINCESS!”

 

Leia smiles & nods. “Good. Then let’s get ready.” She declares as everyone disperses, with chatter noise spreading everywhere throughout the ship. Noticing Jyn & Cassian still standing where they were, Leia approaches them with a smile. “You know, you guys don’t have to go down there. You can stay up here supervising the troops from above if you request.” She suggests to them.

 

Jyn & Cassian look at each other and shake their heads, denying the suggestion. Cassian responds to her loudly. “No! It’s fine, Princess. This is Rogue One. It’s our duty to see this thing through.”

 

“Ah. You’re not one to change your post, are you, Captain?” Leia smirks.

 

“Well…” Cassian starts while shrugging his shoulders. “…we want to help destroy the new Death Star, and bring the Empire closer to defeat. We’ve done it once.”

 

Then, Cassian shifts his gaze at Jyn. “We can do it again.” He says in a confident voice. This makes Jyn’s lips form a gentle, serene smile at him, and he smiles back at her, reminding her of the heroic actions they performed two years earlier.

 

Leia felt her heart sink. She knew exactly how they felt about this whole situation, and she could see why: they wanted to live up to the ultimate duty of being the team that will destroy the Empire once and for all. “Awww. I completely understand, Captain Andor. If that is what you shall do, then by all means. May the Force be with you.” She says to them.

 

“And may the Force be with you.” Jyn says back to her. She & Leia both smile at each other as Leia places a comforting hand on Jyn’s shoulder before walking off to the ship’s bridge level.

 

Suddenly, Luke, Han, and Chewbacca arrive from the upper levels of the ship. They smile at the Rogue One members can greet them.

 

“Hey, my fellow scoundrels, as Leia seems to call me.” Han remarks, making Jyn roll her eyes and Cassian hold in a chuckle. “Well, you guys ready to make history?”

 

Cassian now chuckles nervously and shrugs. “Heheh….well, maybe bigger history than this one will be made soon.”

 

Han chuckles and points a finger at Cassian.

 

“If you guys stick close to us, we can get you into the tunnel where the shield generator is being housed. You guys take it out, and the air squadrons will take care of the rest.” Luke advises them as he puts on his camouflage shirt.

 

“Simple.” Jyn blurts out of nowhere, causing the men’s eyes to turn to her. “…..Just the way I like it.” The now 23-year-old former criminal states with a somewhat sarcastic, cold, dark tone and with an emotionless face. Though, that is how she usually is at times since it is part of her personality, which Cassian found extremely accepting for him.

 

“Right. We’ll see you down in ten. Come on, Chewie!” Han says as he walks away while patting Chewbacca’s furry brown shoulder, and he roars at him from behind as he follows his pilot. Luke pats Jyn’s and Cassian’s shoulders to indicate good luck before following Han and Chewbacca out of the briefing room.

 

After they left, Jyn and Cassian turn to each other. The pair of handsome, dark brown eyes stared down at the pair of forest-green eyes filled with stardust. The Captain speaks to his Sergeant. “Let’s make your father proud by destroying another Death Star, shall we, Sergeant?” Cassian says in a manly tone.

 

Jyn immediately places a finger in front of Cassian’s lips to silence him. Upon doing that, she pushes up on her toes to gain a couple of inches of height so that she is able to bring her lips closer to Cassian’s face. “IF we don’t meet with an unnecessary someone named Death.” The former criminal says softly, which makes Cassian hold in a laugh.

 

“Ah. Then remind me to protect us more often.” Cassian returns words with a wink at Jyn before placing his lips onto Jyn’s soft lips, and they gently kiss in front of K-2SO, who was watching them in disgust.

 

“Ugh…..I hope I don’t have to see those so-called Ewoks kissing each other. Yuck…” K-2SO blurts out in the middle of his teammates’ passionate kiss. This causes Jyn & Cassian to pull away from their kiss and look at their security droid.

 

“Oh, learn about love, you bloody git!” Jyn exclaims while rolling her eyes at K-2SO.


	34. Prisoners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Warning: (This very long chapter contains violent scenes and may be graphic if read & mentally visualized. Parental consent or supervision is advised if under age 18. Read at your own risk.)

**Chapter 34: Prisoners**

“Are you with me?” Captain Cassian asks the same, memorable question that he & Jyn shared during the first few days of knowing each other. The he flips on a switch on the ceiling to get the U-Wing’s engines initiated. Jyn rubs her thumb on her A180 blaster pistol before holstering it and looking up at Cassian.

 

“All the way.” Jyn says back as she places a gentle hand on Cassian’s arm. Cassian adjusts the microphone near his ear and speaks to K-2SO.

 

“K-2, listen. It’s better if we put you on a separate ship. You will be with the squad at point Alpha. Jyn and I will take a separate ship and be with the unit at point Beta. I hope you don’t mind it.” Cassian informs.

 

K-2SO’s voice replies in the comms. “Yes, Captain. I’ll see you down there.”

 

Cassian nods as he has their transport pod ascend several feet off the floor, and he takes off out of the transport shuttle’s hangar. The small transport pod is now in space, following all of the other Rebel transport pods from behind as the very last one in the formation. It is only Jyn and Cassian in the transport pod, and Jyn’s mind replayed certain memories of a very important part of her past the moment she looks over at Cassian at the flight controls. They were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, since the pilot seats were side-by-side at the cockpit window. She eyes him from head to toe: Cassian’s hands control the flight wheel, his eyes focus directly forward, and his smooth, tall appearance in the chair soothed her.

 

For some reason, she loved the idea of being with Cassian, alone in a ship in space.

 

One of the Rebels in the formation spoke through the comms. “We should be there about fifteen minutes, tops. Once we land in the area of operation, divide into your assigned posts.”

 

Acknowledging the Rebel’s instructions, Jyn sighs a big breath of relief as she leans her head against Cassian’s shoulder & closes her eyes, which catches Cassian’s attention as he stares down at the resting Jyn on his shoulder. He smiled at the sight of it, and he strokes her dark brown hair gently. “You alright?” He asks.

 

Jyn sighs. “Every battle we get in to…always makes me wonder if it’d be the last we fight the Empire.”

 

Cassian feels exactly what Jyn feels. He wanted this conflict with the Galactic Empire to end already as much as she did, as much as everyone in the galaxy did. “It’ll be all over soon, Jyn. Just be….patient.” He comforts Jyn, though he knew Jyn wasn’t a very patient woman. He’s seen her temper rise whenever she waited too long for something. Cassian knows what happens when Jyn gets a bad temper: all hell breaks loose. Of course, it made sense because it fit her personality well: a reckless, aggressive, undisciplined woman. Just like her mother, Lyra.

 

((()))

 

It was all quiet for the seemingly long fifteen-minute flight when suddenly, the lights inside the transport pod began to flicker. This stirs much confusion in the two Rebels as they swiftly look all around them. Much to Cassian’s surprise, the flight control wheel wouldn’t respond to his steering. It was as though the ship was being controlled from the outside, by something invisible and strong beyond their power.

 

“W-What’s happening!?” Cassian asks in a puzzled state, jerking the flight wheel left & right repeatedly in an attempt to maneuver the transport pod, but it was no use.

 

Jyn looks out the windows. She sees nothing outside. “I-I don’t know, Cassian!”

 

However, after a couple of minutes of mere chaos inside their transport pod, they begin to notice that their transport pod is slowly and gradually drifting away from the Rebel formation. The pod seemed to be drifting towards somewhere off to the left, like as if a huge magnet was attracting their pod towards it. Realizing that might be the case, Jyn deducts that they had absolutely no control over their transport pod.

 

Jyn’s and Cassian’s heartbeats were getting more rapid by the second from the increasing confusion & the increasing fear in them. Wanting to attempt to call out to his comrades, Cassian grabs the commlink and activates it. “HEY! HEYYYYY! ALPHA SQUAD, CAN YOU HEAR US!? WE’RE BEING DEVIATED AWAY FROM FORMATION! HELP!” Cassian screams out at the top of his lungs.

 

However….there is no response from them. It is as though they never heard a word.

 

“Hello!? Are you there!? Answer us!” Cassian keeps trying, becoming frustrated in the process.

 

Then, Jyn realizes something. She places a hand on Cassian’s arm to calm him down. He looks at her with a frown. “Cassian….I think our comms is being jammed.” Jyn deducts. As Cassian realizes it, he slams the commlink down at the floor and clenches his fists, with frustration boiling in his veins.

 

“So where are we being taken to!?” Cassian mutters angrily and sits in his pilot seat, and he watches helplessly as the other ships carrying the Rebel troops for the Endor mission were flying away from them and towards the moon of Endor, while their pod was being dragged away and into space.

 

After what seemed like ages, the Rogue One members finally catch a glimpse of a round spherical object in the distance. It is dark and round. It appeared to be coming towards them, however, in actuality they were coming towards it. The answer was getting clearer now…

 

“I-Is that….” Cassian starts off, but Jyn finishes for him.

 

“….the Death Star II.” Jyn finishes in a soft, quiet, blank tone. She stares at the enormous space station. The new model, Jyn thought. As she stares at its unfinished features, she reminisces on the days where she was recruited into the Rebellion to steal the plans for the ‘older’ model, when in the end it blasted her to ashes. The most noticeable physical feature of the Death Star II that caught Jyn’s and Cassian’s eyes was the station’s super-destructive laser cannon: the same exact cannon used in the Death Star that incinerated them on Scarif.

 

They both notice that their pod is getting closer to an aircraft landing bay on the Death Star II. It is this moment that they both realize why their transport pod got rendered out of control.

 

“…They pulled us in with their tractor beam. Damn….” Cassian mutters loudly enough that Jyn heard too, and they both sigh in frustration as the pod eventually enters the landing bay and comes to a stop.

 

Jyn grabs Cassian’s shoulder and looks into his anxious eyes. “We’re going to meet resistance.” She says as she pulls out her A180 blaster pistol.

 

“There’s not much we can do from here. Jyn…” Cassian mumbles nervously as he pulls out his A280 blaster pistol. Jyn could tell he is afraid, even though he promised her many times during the past two years that he would be brave for them. It was because he didn’t want to lose her on the battlefield, and she understood that one hundred percent.

 

Jyn places a hand on Cassian’s cheek as she feels her eyes becoming slightly wet. She tried to hold in tears. She stares up into the dark chocolate pair of eyes. She consoles Cassian as they hear the transport pod’s doors being breached by Stormtroopers. “Everything will be okay.” Jyn says softly before placing a quick kiss on his lips.

 

Then, they raise their blasters at the pod’s doors.

 

The doors blast open. Smoke and orange flashes of flames occur. Stormtroopers stand outside of the pod & fire their blasters at the interior of the pod, which destroy the controls in the process. Jyn & Cassian fire back with their hand blasters as much as they can, taking down a few Stormtroopers.

 

Suddenly, in a quick flash, a Sonic Imploder flash grenade is thrown into the pod, and it detonates a white flash of bright light. This blinds Jyn’s and Cassian’s eyes, causing them to cover their faces with one arm.

 

The next thing they knew, they felt they were electrocuted, and they were now down the floor, with their blasters out of their hands. They were disarmed. Apparently, a pair of Stormtroopers shot them with their blasters set to stun mode. Jyn & Cassian felt disoriented and helpless, they felt frozen, they felt numb. Their visions were blurred. They felt like they were going to blackout any minute.

 

They are on the verge of blacking out when they suddenly see a pair of black boots enter the pod and stand right in front of them.

 

A white cape is seen behind the black pants that stood in front of them.

 

Jyn and Cassian hear a familiar voice that they haven’t heard in a long year.

 

“Arrest them, and bring them to the brig cell. I’ve waited a long time for this….” The man’s voice rings out before turning to exit the pod. Jyn sees Stormtrooper shoes now striding towards her, and then she feels metal cuffs being clasped around both of her wrists behind her back.

 

Jyn tried to fight it, but her body couldn’t respond to her mental will. Her mind was screaming in agony, screaming at her to get up and take the stand against the Stormtroopers. But it was helpless. Her body couldn’t move no more.

 

Jyn and Cassian black out.

 

((()))

 

**_“Prisoners”_ **

**_1106 hours_ **

**_Rogue One_ **

**_Sgt. Jyn ‘Stardust’ Erso_ **

**_Brig cell, Death Star II_ **

****

It was blurry all around. The captive couldn’t make out a single shape or person in his sight; all he could see was just blurry light. Not only he could barely see clearly, but he could hear sounds also: the sounds of a woman screaming both in pain and anger, not to mention that he was also on his knees, and he could barely move. It distressed him. It worried him. He made an attempt to free himself from the wrist restraints behind his back, but it was no use. He & the unknown woman were completely helpless.

 

The prisoner heard the sound of a punch on the face, and a groan indicating the reaction of the woman, who turned out to be the other prisoner in the cell with him. He couldn’t remember why they were there, or how they got there. All that conquered his mind was confusion. He kept asking himself unlimited, endless questions until he heard a male voice in the room with them that both surprised him and confused him even more.

 

The voice sounded calm: calm, but sinister. It had a heavy accent. His voice was deep, with anger. He sounded like he was demanding things from both the prisoner and the woman. ‘This didn’t happen by chance,’ the prisoner thought to himself. ‘This was set up.’

 

There was a moment of silence before the prisoner heard the woman shuffling away from the captor. Apparently, she was sitting on the floor in wrist restraints too. She was as helpless as the male prisoner, and he could feel the impatience and pain already through her.

 

“You’re going to make a choice, and you will decide right now!” The captor yelled violently at the female prisoner. However, that voice sounded familiar to the male prisoner.

 

“….No…..that’s not going to happen! Not now, not ever!” The woman yelled back aggressively, fighting her captor verbally. Her rapid breaths could be heard from the male prisoner across the cell.

 

The man laughed hysterically. “Oh, really? You’re just like your mother and father! Rebellious, unfaithful, stubborn, backstabbing low-lives!”

 

This insult about the female’s parents sparked much rage in her blood that she immediately snapped back at the man so loud, at the top of her lungs. She was furious, and she felt as though she could break free from the restraints and beat the life out of the man. “DON’T YOU SAY THAT ABOUT THEM! YOU CAUSED EVERYTHING THAT THEY WENT THROUGH! EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED TO THEM WAS BECAUSE THEY RAN FROM THE EMPIRE! BECAUSE THEY RAN FROM YOU!”

 

Surprised. That was exactly how the male prisoner felt the moment he heard the woman retaliate with her words through his still-blurry sight. But since things were heating up, and afraid that the captor was going to do something painful back to them, the male prisoner thought of injecting his own voice into the fray.

 

“Well, they’re both dead now, orphan girl!” The captor laughed again, insulting and taunting the woman. He rubbed her chin, to which she pulled away defensively from the anger that built up in her.

 

“YOU BASTARD!” The female screamed with fury.

 

“H-Hey…w-what’s going on here!?” The male captive finally spoke, much to the unknown man’s surprise.

 

The mysterious captive chuckled and slowly approached the male prisoner. He could see him coming closer through his blurry vision, and his heart skipped beats rapidly with each step the man took towards him. “Well, well, well, look who decided to join us. Such a sleepy one, I presume. But he’s good. He could make such a lovely Death Trooper to my collection!” The man taunted, further angering the woman.

 

“NO! He will not!” The female defended.

 

The male prisoner suddenly realized something. That woman’s voice….it was very, VERY familiar.

 

And his vision was slowly and gradually becoming clearer by the minute. He could see the captor. He was a tall, old man with gray hair. And he was wearing a white uniform with a white cape…

 

He also sees that the woman was wearing a gray jacket with a brown vest over it, and black pants. Her brunette hair was tied in a bun on the back of her head and fringes that hung on each side of her face. She looked very, VERY familiar to him.

 

“Then declare to me that you will join us! Join the Galactic Empire, and destroy those Rebel scums that you call friends!” The man demanded out of the woman.

 

The woman was struck. Now, her anger reached a full level.

 

“NEVVVVVERRRRRRRRR!” She angrily forced the rejection from her lungs through barred teeth and shook her head, with a furious-looking face. She briefly licked the small spot of blood on her bottom lips, which resulted from the physical abuse inflicted by the man in white.

 

The man in white chuckled upon hearing that.

 

The woman, with her blood mixed with her saliva in her mouth, spat her blood on the man’s white uniform. This caused him to jerk back, and surged angry feelings through his veins.

 

“Alright then, Jyn Erso. Let’s see if your partner in crime joining us will make you join, since you’re as defiant as your mother was.” The white-uniformed Imperial declares. He turns to the male prisoner, and he dashes towards him in a flash. The male prisoner widens his eyes in surprise and confusion.

 

Jyn’s anger levels instantly drops, and she widens her eyes in concern as she watched. “What? Wait! What are you doing to him!? Orson! Orson Krennic!” Jyn attempted to catch his attention, but it was no use. He already grabbed ahold of the male prisoner.

 

Orson Krennic violently and aggressively stood the male prisoner up on his feet, then gave him one punch to the abdomen. He groaned in pain, and Jyn screamed in response and sympathy.

 

“Guards!” Orson yelled towards the cell door, and two of his Deathtrooper bodyguards entered the cell and took the male captive by the arms. The male prisoner was powerless: he couldn’t move nor fight back. Krennic most likely drugged him with a powerful sedative that inhibited his senses. All he could do was observe, hear, and think.

 

‘N-No…I will not…join….them.’ The prisoner said to himself in his own mind. His eyes began to close slowly, for he was about to drift into a deep sleep again. ‘J-Jyn…’ He called out to himself silently.

 

Jyn’s voice rang out loudly through the air.

 

“NO!!!!!! CASSSSSIIIIIAAAAAANNNNNNN!” Jyn yells at the top of her lungs, with tears streaming down her face more than ever. Her hyperventilating breaths try to prevent her from speaking and pleading with Orson Krennic.

 

As Cassian is brought out into the brig’s hallway by the pair of Death Troopers, Jyn is brought out next by another pair of Death Troopers. She grunts angrily as she tries to shake herself out of their grasps, but they are too strong. Jyn’s reckless and aggressive strength wouldn’t help much at all in this situation of being surrounded & captured by a high abundance of Imperial elites. Her anger dies down when suddenly, she notices that Cassian was groaning in pain loudly, and this causes her to have a concerned look & a concerned feeling for him. Cassian’s face looked pained, and it worried Jyn. “C-Cassian!? What’s wrong!?” Jyn tries to ask Cassian, but he is now laying on his side on the floor, still groaning in pain. Jyn then shifts her gaze up to look up at the cold blue pair of eyes of Orson Krennic, who had a dirty smirk on his face. “What did you do to him, you bastard?!” Jyn yells angrily with angry wide eyes.

 

“Heheheh. You’ll see.” Orson chuckles evilly as he crosses his hands in front of his waist.

 

Jyn suddenly hears a loud, sinister breathing sound nearby. The sounds were coming from a filtered mask. Turning around to look behind her, she notices the tall, sinister Darth Vader appear before them. He approaches Jyn with a cold, dark, evil vibe before stopping in front of her, and he stares down at the scared young woman who helped destroy the first Death Star. Jyn stares up at Vader in fear.

 

Jyn wished she had her lightsaber to fight Vader, but all of her weapons, and Cassian’s weapons, were confiscated.

 

And besides, she was injured & weakened. Both she and Cassian were. They had bruises all over their bodies, cuts covered some parts of their body, and blood bled from every cut inflicted by the Stormtroopers who tortured them. Even Orson Krennic himself was torturing her and Cassian. Krennic: the old man who was once close friends with her family. It disgusted Jyn to think about her father’s former friend physically beating up his daughter. Even though Jyn is a tough, reckless, aggressive, undisciplined Rebel woman, Jyn still had her limits. She’s a young woman. She believed this extent of torture and physical abuse should have no place anywhere, for anyone. And she certainly did not appreciate it from Orson, particularly.

 

“You…..Jyn Erso. You’re afraid. Afraid about Captain Andor.” Vader says in a sinister low tone. Jyn shakes her head slowly, lying about it and denying his claim. “You should be.” Vader finishes as he makes his way towards Cassian, who still lie on the floor groaning in pain.

 

The reason he was groaning in pain: his heart was aching. It was aching because he finally believed that his nightmare from a couple of years earlier finally became true: he and Jyn were captured, being tortured, and were being encountered by Darth Vader, and they were going to attempt to turn Cassian to the dark side of the Force just to manipulate Jyn into joining the Empire.

 

“N-No….” Cassian mutters as he tries to crawl away, which Orson stops him by kicking him in the chest. Jyn watches in horror as Vader proceeds to use his Force Choke on Cassian, causing Cassian to grab ahold of his throat and gasp for air vigorously. Jyn watches in horror as she tries to struggle from the troopers’ strong grasps.

 

“NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM!? STOP IT!!!!!!!” Jyn yells loudly at the top of her lung as tears bursts from her eyes.

 

Vader leans in towards Cassian. “I dare you, Captain, to join the dark side, and fulfil your destiny with Jyn Erso as my companions. Your futures lie here, in my Galactic Empire.” The dark lord says to Cassian in a dark, sinister tone in between masked breaths. Jyn’s eyes widen in reaction, and she shakes her head repeatedly.

 

“NO! NO, WE WILL NOT JOIN YOU! THE EMPIRE BE DAMNED!” Jyn screams out in agony. She could feel the emotional pain overtaking her. Her heart ached its most painful ache Jyn has ever experienced. She didn’t want to join the Empire. She didn’t want to make her father’s mistakes. And most of all: she didn’t want her lover, Cassian, to be tempted to the dark side either. She would die if he did.

 

After choking Cassian for a very long minute and not getting any response from Cassian, Darth Vader releases the Force Choke, causing Cassian to fall to the floor and rub his throat in an attempt to soothe it from the supernatural offensive ability. Vader then turns his attention to Jyn, who looks up at Vader in horror through tears. “I could feel your soul, Jyn Erso. You’re breaking down. Good. Good girl.” Vader taunts Jyn.

 

Jyn shakes her head angrily and decides to spit at Vader’s boot as an insult.

 

Feeling rage flare up inside him, Orson Krennic immediately proceeds to stomp towards Jyn swiftly, making the surrounding Death Troopers move aside so he can grab Jyn. As he approaches Jyn, he grabs her by her tied bun on the back of her head, and he throws her into a nearby metal wall hard, where a loud thud sounds out from the impact Jyn made with the wall. Jyn feels her head in pain from the impact, and she is about to fall to the floor when Krennic is quick enough to grab her and pin her against the wall with one hand grabbing the collar of her gray jacket.

 

Orson delivers a strong punch across Jyn’s face. Jyn groans in pain. But she feels more tears releasing from her eyes. She hasn’t felt this kind of physical pain this strong. The punch from Orson’s fist struck her like a lightning bolt.

 

“DON’T YOU DARE DO THAT TO THE DARK LORD, ERSO GIRL!” Orson yells down at Jyn, whose head hung down so that she was sobbing at the floor loudly. Her cries echoed through the cold, dark hallway of the Death Star II’s brig. Orson then delivers a strong smack across Jyn’s face, causing her more pain. Then, Orson proceeds to grab Jyn by her brown hair & throw her down at the cold hard floor, where she lands, with her hands still cuffed behind her back.

 

Jyn Erso was being abused by her archenemy. Her parents’ former friend.

 

Jyn sobs more, but her sobs gradually slow when she suddenly hears another pair of footsteps approaching ahead. As Jyn looks up through her teary eyes, her bloody & sweaty face, and her hyperventilating breaths, she sees a black-cloaked figure appear before her. The cloaked man had pale, wrinkly skin and a wrinkled face, further giving him a more eerie, evil vibe than Darth Vader, and this makes Jyn stare up at the cloaked man in great horror. She knew who it was.

 

“E-Emperor….P-Palpatine.” Jyn mutters quietly under her breath, feeling her heart pound harder more than ever due to the increasing fear in her.

 

The Emperor gives a very ugly, dirty smirk at the pained female Rebel down on the floor in front of him. He also notes Cassian next to her, still lying on the cold floor.

 

“Ah…..yes. Rogue…..One. The ones who crippled my Death Star into destruction.” The Emperor speaks in a low, sinister tone that sent chills down Jyn’s spine. “Your father wouldn’t have liked that, since he was the one who created it.”

 

Jyn instantly shakes her head. “It was his! And he wanted it destroyed!”

 

The Emperor smiles. “Good! We could use people like you…..and the man you love, in our Empire. Yes…..I can feel it in you, Jyn Erso. You don’t want to join us. I know your fear….” The Emperor taunts her as he turns his attention to Cassian. Jyn then shifts her gaze at Cassian as well, for she is confused as to what was going to happen.

 

“You’ll want to change your mind…..when your Captain will!” The Emperor says. Then, he raises his hands, with all of his fingers pointing at Cassian. In the blink of an eye, a blue glow lights the entire hallway, and Cassian is electrocuted by the lightning emitting from Palpatine’s fingers.

 

Cassian screams out in pain as he writhes on the floor. Every limb twitches. He tries to wiggle his arms free, but his hands were cuffed behind his back too. “GGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Cassian screams painfully.

 

Unbeknownst to him, Jyn was crying.

 

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!! DON’T KILL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!! KILL ME! KILL ME!!!!!!!!” Jyn screams at the top of her lungs with a river of tears bursting from her eyes & streaming down her face: the tear droplets fall to the floor like rain. Jyn couldn’t bear to watch her lover be electrocuted & tortured by the Sith Lord running the Galactic Empire.

 

Suddenly, the Emperor stops his lightning attacks on Cassian, and Jyn sighs a huge breath of relief as her heart begins to loosen from the intensity of the situation. All that fills the room were Jyn’s sobs of fright & sympathy for her tortured Captain. The Emperor takes a step closer towards Jyn.

“That….would be too easy, my dear.” The Emperor says as a response to Jyn’s plea before laughing a sinister laugh. Then he continues to taunt Jyn with his eerie voice. “If neither of you will abandon your rebel friends and turn to the dark side……then perhaps we will make your stay with us……..unpleasant.” The Emperor finishes as he stands back and makes a signal to Orson Krennic, who nods.

 

“N-No!!!!!!!” Jyn yells in horror as she helplessly watches her archenemy approach her. Krennic proceeds towards Jyn, and he grabs her by her gray jacket and throws her against the metal wall again. Then, Krennic delivers several punches to Jyn’s abdomen, making her grunt in pain with each devastating blow. The old man was furious. He felt the rage boiling in his blood, and he could taste every bit of it. Krennic proceeds to grab Jyn by her hair and angle her face up at him so that they were face-to-face.

 

Jyn had cuts & bruises on her face, with blood coming from the cuts. But Orson, of course, didn’t care. He wanted to make her suffer.

 

“This is what you get for interfering with MY plans! You bitch!!!” Orson yells at the helpless young female before delivering another blow to her abdomen with his knee, and he throws her down to the floor once again.

 

After Jyn hits the floor, she notices that Orson’s Death Troopers surrounded Cassian, and they were attacking Cassian…..abusing him, with their batons and the butt of their heavy blaster rifles. Cassian started to bleed from the bruises and numerous cuts all over his face and his torso. His groans of pain hurt Jyn, and each time a groan from Cassian entered her ears, her heart ached more, because it terrified her just hearing him suffer from the physical abuse of the cruel troopers. And she knew Cassian would feel & react the same way with her.

 

“CASSIAN!” Jyn yells helplessly as she watches the Death Troopers do their damage on her lover.

 

Once again, Krennic grabs Jyn by her hair and shoves her through a group of metal supply crates down the hallway, causing a loud mess, and a hurting Jyn. She cries out in pain as she feels more bruises forming in her lower limbs, and all she could do was lie helplessly on the floor since her cuffed hands limited her actions. She couldn’t run away. It’s no use. She became overwhelmed. Krennic then slaps her in the face hard again, with some of her blood transferring to his hand. After chuckling evilly, Krennic pushes Jyn down to the floor, where she & Cassian were now surrounded by Orson’s Death Troopers and several Stormtroopers, with Vader & the Emperor watching the torture taking place.

 

With Jyn down on the floor looking up at him with a pained look and an injured-looking face, Orson Krennic kneels down in front of her and grabs her by the throat. Their eyes lock gazes with each other, and they both give each other cold stares. “You’re a scum, just like all your Rebel friends out there. You’re a pathetic little girl! Pathetic, just like your mother and father were when they were still alive!”

 

Feeling the anger rise as an effect of his insult about her parents, Jyn grunts angrily and spits on Orson’s face. After doing that, she yells at him. “SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD!!!”

 

Orson laughs as he wipes Jyn’s saliva off his face. “You look hungry, Erso girl. Have a bite to eat, will you?” He asks. As he asked this, Jyn shoots him a look of confusion with furrowed brows. It is then she notices a Stormtrooper arrive from outside the brig area with a tray of food from the Death Star II’s mess hall. The Stormtrooper harshly slides the tray across the floor so that it hits Jyn’s knees since she was sat down on the floor. Jyn looks at the tray of food, then back up at Orson, wondering what he was trying to make her do.

 

“Let’s make this a bit more interesting, shall we?” Krennic says as he signals two of his Death Troopers towards Jyn. Jyn becomes extremely confused when the Death Troopers approach her, and, in the blink of an eye, they pull & strip off her clothes. They pull off every bit of fabric covering her slim, injured, bruised body, until her clothes & brown pair of boots were laid out all around her, and her bare, naked, bruised body exposed to all the Imperials around her watching.

 

Jyn becomes extremely confused, scared, and nervous. She is knelt down on the cold hard floor, naked and handcuffed right in front of her enemies, and forced to eat food with her mouth only, like an animal. She felt the most embarrassed in her life. She wanted to cry more tears from the anxiety and fear conquering her.

 

“Eat it.” Krennic demands with a serious tone and a serious face.

 

Still, no answer from Jyn, as she just stares up at him with a half angered & half confused face.

 

Losing his patience and feeling his blood boil, Orson pulls out his DT-29 revolver pistol blaster and points it at Jyn’s head, with a couple of his Death Troopers doing the same by pointing their heavy blaster rifles down at Jyn. “EAT!!!!!!” Krennic yells loudly in great fury.

 

As a result, Jyn cries tears again.

 

And Cassian notices this. He sits up on the floor and frowns in confusion as he watches his naked young Sergeant kneeling in front of him, handcuffed, with a tray of food in front of her. “Jyn!? Hey, stop this, NOW! What the hell are you doing to her??!!” The rebellious Captain angrily exclaims. However, one of the Death Troopers behind him strikes the back of his head with the butt of his heavy blaster, causing Cassian to sustain damage to his head and groan loudly in pain.

 

Krennic points his DT-29 revolver at Cassian. “SHUT UP, ANDOR!” Krennic yells. Then he turns his pistol back on the naked Jyn. “EAT! DO IT, NOW, DAMN GIRL!”

 

For her & Cassian’s sakes, Jyn proceeds to bend down and munch on the food present on the tray while tears stream down her wet, bleeding face. Some of her blood smears on the food in the process since blood was coming from her nostrils. Jyn felt the most embarrassed she’s ever been. She wished she got out of that hell hole. She wanted to kill the cruel people around her at that moment. She is a human female. She is a woman, not a dog. She found it very offensive to be treated that way, to be forced to behave like that by someone. Jyn knows she is a reckless, aggressive, undisciplined woman with a rough past and a criminal record, but she knows that didn’t mean she could be treated this way. It made her extremely uncomfortable. Jyn got even more uncomfortable when Orson, the Emperor, and all the surrounding Imperial troopers start laughing at her.

 

“Hahahahahahahaha!” Emperor Palpatine laughs in much amusement with the other Stormtroopers and Death Troopers.

 

“Awwww! Look at that! Daddy’s little girl just became our new house pet! We should give her the special treat of more misery after her meal!” Orson makes fun of Jyn as he laughs along with them evilly.

Cassian shakes his head as he helplessly watches Jyn eat the tray of food while stripped of all her clothes. The sight of it made him cringe. He never, ever wanted to see such an act like this ever again. This angered him greatly. Cassian did not appreciate his girlfriend being treated this way. “C-Curse…you.” Cassian mutters silently under his breath soft enough that none of the Imperials heard him.

 

As Jyn finished with the food, she straightens back up as more tears flow down her red cheeks. She felt deeply humiliated, she felt extremely miserable, yet so angry. As the Imperial troopers around her stop laughing, Jyn shifts her cold, angered, sad forest-green eyes up at Orson Krennic. The sight of his face made her want to kill him now for what he just made her do.

 

Krennic holsters his DT-29 revolver blaster and raises his wrist to look at his watch. Then, he scoffs. “Looks like it’s time for your nap, little girl.” He taunts Jyn with the last 2 words, calling her little since her young adult self still reminded him of the little 4-year-old Jyn back in his younger days when he was friends with her parents, Galen & Lyra.

 

“…..Piss off!” Jyn yells at Krennic before spitting at his boot.

 

In response, Orson angrily slaps Jyn in the face once more before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her with him back to the brig cell. The Death Troopers take Cassian by the arms and lead him to the brig cell also, with Cassian trying to struggle free from their strong grasps but to no avail. Both Jyn & Cassian are thrown into their jail cell together, where they hit the floor.

 

Orson enters the cell with a Stormtrooper, and he delivers one hard, final kick to Jyn’s chest while the Stormtrooper slams his blaster hard against Cassian’s head, both inflicting more pain to the imprisoned Rebels. Cassian closes his eyes as the pain throbs sharply through his head, and Jyn breathes harder due to the strong blow to her chest. Krennic and the Stormtrooper then exit the cell, with Krennic turning to face them while standing by the cell door.

 

“I hope you enjoyed your…..introduction! Haahahhahahaha!” Orson taunts Jyn and Cassian with a dirty smirk. “We’ll let you recover for the rest of the day, because we’ll have an important, private meeting very soon! Enjoy your stay, rebel scums.”

 

As Jyn and Cassian watch Orson walk way & disappear from view, a Stormtrooper throws in Jyn’s clothes, which land on her naked body, before he closes the cell doors, leaving the two injured, helpless Rebels in the dark cell together. Only a single light from the ceiling lit the middle of the cell. But, Jyn still feels angered and offended by what she underwent just now. Her anger took over.

 

“DAAAAMMMMMMNNNNNN YOU, ORSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO US!!!! I’LL KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Jyn yells angrily at the top of her lungs, before breaking down into a tearful sob. Her head hangs down as she cries & releases every sad, shocking emotion from her chest. She felt very hurt, both emotionally and physically. She felt herself getting cold, since the Imperial station had cold air temperatures and she is completely naked, with bleeding cuts and dark bruises from the brutal torture she endured.

 

Cassian looks at Jyn, and he felt like crying too. Through the Force, he felt exactly how hurt Jyn felt. It angered him so much, yet it also saddened him. He’s never heard of any Rebel, male or female, undergo as brutal of a torture than this. This was his first time being captured & tortured by Imperials, and he was badly hurt too. But, Cassian concludes that Jyn is the one who is hurt the most than him. He sympathized for her. He didn’t care if there were bruises & cuts on her naked body. He loved her so much. She is his woman, and she is all that mattered to him.

 

“Jyn….” Cassian mutters out loud. He wanted to say more, but he couldn’t. He was too weak and too emotionally shocked. Cassian scoots closer by Jyn’s side and brings his shoulder closer to her, which causes Jyn to rest her head on his shoulder as she continues to cry her endless, beautiful tears of hurt.

 

The two prisoners sat there on the floor of the brig cell, helpless and tortured, and away from their mission.


	35. Project KALLOS

**Chapter 35: Project KALLOS**

_The little girl climbed up on the ladder, smiling and laughing with the other children as they were about to prepare to slide down the playground’s slide. It was the child’s play time, and she & the other children were at the top of the big building in Coruscant. The girl’s mother wanted some time off to herself, and so they were enjoying some time in the cool sunset of the huge metropolis._

_After the little girl slides down the slide and ends at the ground, she looks up to see if her mother, sitting at a bench nearby, was watching. But she wasn’t. The little girl’s smile fades away when she sees that her mother was talking to a tall, blonde-haired man in a white Republic uniform._

_The white uniform had the words ‘Krennic’ embroidered at the right breast of the top half of the uniform. The little girl felt it was a nerve-wrecking situation because of the look on her mother’s face: her mother’s face looked afraid and frightened of the man, and she was sitting at the bench, looking up at him with her full attention. The little girl takes a couple of steps closer towards them, watching the conversation from some long feet away without the mother nor the man noticing._

_“I’d watch yourselves if I were you, Lyra, for your own safety, especially for your child’s sake. If your husband decides not to….cooperate with us, then….something’s bound to happen soon.” Krennic told the frightened, shocked woman with a dirty smirk._

_The woman, Lyra Erso, quickly glanced over at Jyn, now seeing that she was watching the conversation. Then Lyra looks back up at Krennic as she finally stands up from the bench, and she turns her feared face into a serious face. Some anger rose up in her blood, and she felt it. She could feel her fist tightening into a ball already. “I-Is that a threat!?” Lyra asked furiously and loudly, though none of the kids nor their parents noticed or heard her. Lyra Erso’s voice sounded aggressive, given her reckless, aggressive, undisciplined personality._

_The little girl, Jyn, runs to her mother’s side and wraps her arms around Lyra’s waist, with Lyra doing the same by wrapping only one arm around Jyn. Jyn presses herself into Lyra’s waist, and this tells Lyra that Jyn became afraid of Krennic also._

_Krennic smirks at Lyra. “Be careful, Lyra…..” The young blonde man says in an eerie tone that sent chills down Lyra’s spine. “You don’t want to be treading on ice too far…” Krennic taunts Mrs. Erso before turning and walking away from the two Erso females._

_Lyra’s heart raced. Her blood pulsed rapidly. She felt scared and nervous and anxious and paranoid now, because there was now a possibility she and her family were being threatened by their friend, Orson Krennic, if her husband, Galen, wouldn’t agree to put in the final preparations of some secret weapons project that Krennic was leading for the Republic._

_Lyra cuddled Jyn firmly to her side as many thoughts and questions mixed in her mind, and little Jyn stares at the floor in shock._

((()))

 

It seemed like an eternity. It seemed like forever in pitch-black darkness. The black lagoon, the black abyss, consumed her for endless time, until a light suddenly became clear up ahead. Jyn opens her eyes slowly with a small groan, for she feels her abdomen aching. As some dim light entered her sensitive eyes, she instantly came to her senses.

 

She was knocked out, asleep. She remembers that she and Cassian were being tortured very cruelly and brutally by Orson Krennic and his Imperial troopers.  She didn’t remember what happened after they were thrown back into the brig cell the previous night, and so Jyn figured they were drugged asleep and woken back up with drugs.

 

The torture, Jyn remembers. She remembers what Krennic, her family’s former friend, her family’s archenemy, made her do last night. He had her stripped naked in the middle of the cold hallway, with her wrists cuffed behind her back, and he made her eat a tray of food off the floor like an animal.

 

She admits to herself that it was the most humiliating thing anyone has ever done to her, and despite her laid back, reckless, aggressive, undisciplined, & careless character, as a woman, she didn’t appreciate being treated that way. It made her extremely uncomfortable, and very angry, to be seen completely naked & kneeled down with face on the floor and her arse up by the Stormtroopers, Death Troopers, the Emperor, Darth Vader, and Krennic.

 

Jyn tries to move her wrists and ankles, but they couldn’t move. They were tightly locked in place by metal restraints, and she is restrained in an upright position. But, luckily, she finds herself in her usual uniform again: gray long-sleeve jacket, brown vest over it, black pants, and brown boots. She looks up from the black cold floor to see that she is in some kind of private torture cell with a large window in front of her. Endor could be seen in view.

 

Jyn remembers where she is: the second Death Star. And it was right above Endor, waiting for the right time to destroy it, just like it has to Jedha, Scarif, Alderaan, and other planets that have fallen victim to its destructive capability.

 

Jyn becomes nervous. She wonders where Cassian is. She wanted to know where her Captain, her lover, her partner in crime, is. He suffered the tortures with her, and Jyn was scared for both of them. Jyn began to ask questions in her head until she hears a groan to her left. Looking to her left, she sighs a big breath of relief when she sees Cassian just now waking up next her, in the same position: wrists & ankles restrained and upright.

 

“Cassian!” Jyn says loudly as she watches Cassian’s groggy face and his eyes focusing slowly to his surroundings.

 

“J-Jyn.” Cassian mutters as he looks at her with a small smile. They both notice the abundance of cuts and bruises on their faces, but they didn’t care, because the important thing is that they were alive.

 

“Cassian, look. We’re above Endor. We haven’t had contact with the Rebels for a whole day. How do you think they’re doing down there?” Jyn asks.

 

Cassian shrugs as he stares at the green-colored moon. “I….I’m sure they’re doing fine.”

 

“Just fine!?” Jyn hissed with a serious face. “They’re wondering where we are!”

Cassian looks at Jyn as his smile fades. “Have faith, Jyn.” He says, and Jyn sighs.

 

Suddenly, a door on the right slides open, and the two Rebels’ attentions turn to the door. They aren’t surprised to see Orson Krennic, Darth Vader, and the Emperor enter the special cell that overlooked Endor. Krennic had a dirty smirk on is face as he stared down at his two captives in restraints. Jyn & Cassian both glare up at Orson as Palpatine and Vader stood to the side.

 

“Well, well, well. I hope you enjoyed your nap time. It’s time for our little meeting.” Krennic says in an intimidating way. Jyn & Cassian turn their attentions to the Emperor and Darth Vader as one of them begin to speak.

 

“Yes……I’m sure they enjoyed their introduction. Hahahahahaha!” The Emperor cackles as he laughs hysterically at the two helpless Rebels. Then, he shifts his evil-looking gaze to Endor just outside the window. “I feel it…..” He whispers loudly. “….your Rebel scums are trapped. They are….helpless, just as you are. They will never succeed.”

 

Jyn shakes her head quickly as she feels her anger flare up. “You’re wrong!”

 

The Emperor laughs as he looks over at Vader. Jyn & Cassian look at Vader, who suddenly takes out a silver object from his waist. It looked very familiar to Jyn, because it is a hilt: a lightsaber. She recognized the design of it. She finally realized whose it is….

 

Darth Vader presses a switch on the lightsaber, and it activates, causing a green glowing plasma blade to emit from the hilt. The bright green glow lights the cell brightly.

 

“Luke…?” Jyn mutters out loud enough for the three major Imperials in front of her to hear. Darth Vader had Luke Skywalker’s new lightsaber. ‘ _Is Luke on this Death Star!?_ ’ Jyn thought to herself as she stares at Vader and Luke’s lightsaber in confusion.

 

After a sinister-sounding breath through the filtered mask, Vader deactivates Luke’s lightsaber. “We would love to join in on the….fun. But the Emperor and I have much more important matters to attend to.” Vader says as he stores Luke’s lightsaber back on his waist belt. Jyn figured he was referring to them dealing with Luke, and so she concluded that Luke had been captured and is now aboard the Death Star, waiting to confront Vader and Emperor Palpatine. “Enjoy your playtime, Director.” Vader finishes with a last word as he and the Emperor storm out of the cell, and the cell door closes & locks itself.

 

Upon turning his attention to his two prisoners, Orson Krennic makes a dirty smirk that pisses Jyn off, and he steps closer to her. “Jyn, Jyn, Jyn…..troublesome as ever, aren’t you?” He says.

 

Troublesome.

 

Yes…

 

That word described exactly how Jyn’s mother was. Krennic called Lyra that word 15 years earlier before he shot her to death right in front of Galen & little Jyn’s eyes.

 

“You could bet my mother’s life on that…if she was still alive!” Jyn says in a serious tone through gritted teeth and stone cold eyes that stared directly at the old, evil man in front of her.

 

“Oh! My, my….like mother, like daughter. Reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined, am I right?” Krennic chuckles. “Just like her, you tried to interfere with my plans, little girl.” Krennic glares at her with his cold eyes.

 

Jyn, hesitating for a moment, shoots back with words of her own. “How’s that blaster scar treating you? Still ugly, isn’t it?”

 

Krennic slightly winces at the thought. He looks down at his left shoulder, and he places a hand over it, gently feeling the exact spot where he was shot by Lyra, Jyn’s mother, in Lah’mu 15 years ago, right before he killed her. He also realizes he had another blaster scar, inflicted by Cassian at the archive tower in Scarif 2 years ago. “Well…..your mother does leave a good mark. Hahahahaha.” He chuckles evilly, and this causes Jyn to jerk at him, but it is no use since she is restrained by the restraints. Cassian watches in disgust, frowning at Orson Krennic as he torments Jyn. “She’s such a lousy shot. She could’ve left her mark on my face!”

 

Jyn glares at him through barred teeth. “Well, if you let me try, I could fulfill her mark for you!” Jyn yells back at Krennic viciously. She knows she is a good shot, and she would love to make that man’s face her target for target practice. Much to Krennic’s amusement, he found her comeback funny.

 

“Just like your mother: reckless. You know, your parents really valued me as a true friend back when you were just a little girl. Yes….daddy’s little girl. Stardust, he calls you.” Krennic says.

 

Jyn’s eyes grow wide. “I damn you from calling me that name! Only my family calls me that!” She yells at Krennic, and then she looks over at Cassian, who looks at her too. And this makes Krennic look at Cassian too. Figuring out the chemistry between the two Rebels, Krennic paces around in front of them.

 

“The Force is strong between both of you, I hear.” Krennic says, eyeing Cassian. “Captain Andor….the man Erso girl loves.” He says with a smile. Cassian grunts angrily as he glares at him and tries to jerk towards Krennic like Jyn tried to do, but to no avail. “You two have done nothing but spoil everything in my agenda. How so very rude of you.” Krennic then says with a glare.

 

“Agenda? Huh. That’s our job, you know.” Cassian retorts as he keeps his eyes on Orson Krennic with a serious face.

 

“Oh.” Krennic responds, making a ‘tsk’ sound with his tongue. “But, I have a new agenda now. A new plan. A new plan that you will find very…. intriguing.” He chuckles as he smirks at both Jyn & Cassian. They frown at Krennic in confusion as he looks out towards Endor.

 

“New plan? What new plan?” Jyn says. “I thought this hellhole we’re in is already the Empire’s so-called new plan?”

 

Krennic continues to stare at Endor. “Your father may have helped my development team on the first Death Star, but that was just the beginning, Jyn.”

 

Jyn feels her need to retaliate with her words. “Oh, yeah!? That’s because you used him as your pawn! Just like how you used all 3 of us as your pawns! You used us, you bloody bastard!” The young Erso yells at her family’s nemesis angrily with wide angered eyes.

 

Krennic shrugs his shoulders. “It was necessary. I needed a good place to start. Your father was the perfect way to develop the project, and I in return gained everything. I wish I could send your father my regards.”

 

Jyn shakes her head. “You bastard!”

 

Cassian sees how angry Jyn became, and he felt that he needed to support her. “Don’t you say another word about her parents! You hear?” The helpless Captain hisses angrily as he glares at Krennic’s back since he is stilled facing the window that overlooked Endor. However, Orson Krennic ignores him and Jyn.

 

“…..For centuries, this galaxy has served its purpose, and it has already done its damage to itself.” Krennic starts off unexpectedly….

 

……because Jyn and Cassian suddenly become confused about what Krennic just said. They both look at each other before setting their gaze back to Krennic’s back.

 

“H-Huh?” Jyn and Cassian say simultaneously.

 

Krennic stares at Endor with mean, cold eyes. “War never stops.”

 

Jyn and Cassian didn’t respond with a single word, so they decide to listen to the Director.

 

“…..You see, the root of this entire galaxy’s problems lies with its people. It is then I came to a realization…..” Krennic says, still staring out the window at Endor. “…..Everything…….is corrupt. EVERYTHING.”

 

Jyn frowns in confusion. “What do you mean by that!?”

 

Orson finally turns around to face Jyn. “Everything in the galaxy is corrupt! The leaders, the governments, the military, society, the various civilizations, the media, the banks, the people, all of it. The Empire is here, sitting ducks, wasting its time dealing with the pointless, endless troubles of the people when, really….” Krennic scoffs before continuing. “…..it should be doing something about it: ending it all.”

 

“What!?!?” Cassian asks confusingly, frowning at Krennic. “What do you mean everything is corrupt!?”

 

Jyn frowns as well with much confusion. She didn’t like the sound of Krennic’s tone when he made his statement. “What in the hell are you talking about!? What do you mean ‘end it all’?” Jyn asks Krennic with her voice raised. This begins to worry her.

 

Krennic forms a slight smirk on his face as he pulls out a tiny handheld device from his pocket and holds it in his hand. “You know, Jyn, your father’s construction of the first Death Star was only the beginning. But now, his cause led to something much greater. Something much better, even much better than this space station.”

 

Jyn shakes her head, because she was so very confused, and she wanted her questions to be answered instantly. “What do you mean!?” She asks loudly.

With the two captured Rebels so very confused out of their heads, Orson eventually presses a button on the device. The device makes a sound, and it causes it to activate and emit a blue glow in the cell. Holographic images project from the device as Orson holds it in front of Jyn & Cassian for them to see clearly. The images show an entire payload of enormous missiles, a type of space station that did not even resemble a Death Star, and glass canisters containing some unknown liquid.

 

“Let me introduce to you Project KALLOS.” Krennic announces.

 

Jyn & Cassian both squint at the holographic images that their archenemy revealed before their eyes, and they became curious about what he was showing them.

 

“P-Project KALLOS….?” Both Jyn & Cassian mutter at the same time.

 

Krennic smirks as his eyes become mesmerized in the holographic images that showed the materials included in what he calls ‘Project KALLOS.’ “Yes….Project KALLOS.”

 

After some silence lurking the surrounding atmosphere in the cell, Jyn decides to ask away. “Bastard. Is this another one of your planet destroyers!?” A hint of THE Jyn Erso’s anger can be sensed in her question. Cassian shifts gazes between her and Orson as he tries to absorb the conversation carefully.

 

Krennic makes a ‘tsk’ sound with his tongue and shakes his head. “Oh….no. No, no, no. This is something far much better. Far much worse, should I say.” Upon saying this, Orson Krennic’s lips form a tiny evil smile. “You see, I have come up with a new plan, a new plan far more superior than anything anyone has ever thought of in the history of the galaxy. It will be revolutionary, it will be extraordinary, and it will be…. devastating. Devastating…..to you Rebel scums.”

 

Cassian’s breaths become shallower since he did not like how Krennic’s presentation sounded. “How……um, how devastating could this….KALLOS be? It can’t be more dangerous than a planet killer.” Cassian says as he then turns his focus on Jyn, who looks at him too. They searched each other’s eyes for a possible answer, but they knew that only Krennic knew the answers to their curiosity, and so they turn their attention back on him.

 

“Let me show you!” Orson tells them as he presses a button on the holographic projection device to switch views. After the images fade away, a video appears in the holographic projection showing what appeared to be a missile exploding in the atmosphere of some planet, and a green cloud of gas emitting from the explosion. “Allow me to reveal to you the power of Project KALLOS.” Krennic says as Jyn & Cassian watch in horror: the cloud of green gas eventually makes contact with some innocent people in a city, and the people of the city suddenly begin to scream in pain and cover their faces. Their bodies begin to twitch and melt away as they fall to the floor with misery being screamed into the atmosphere. It didn’t take long for the entire population of that city to become dead. However, there were also Stormtroopers present in the city. But they were not killed by the cloud of gas.

 

Somehow, that demonstration in the video seemed so familiar to Jyn and Cassian……

 

“Hey….wait a minute….” Cassian starts off as he realizes something.

 

Jyn’s eyes widen. “I-Isn’t that….?”

 

Orson cuts them off. “Project KALLOS. The canisters containing the green liquid substance are stored into these ballistic missiles. The ballistic missiles are then launched to its pre-designated target. Upon detonation, a cloud of extremely harmful nerve agent causes the deaths of……thousands. Millions.” Orson explained, with his lips forming an evil smirk at the last two words of his sentence.

 

Jyn and Cassian both look at each other in horror before turning their gazes back on Orson Krennic. They have seen this kind of weapon before.

 

“Wait….h-how is it the Imperials were not killed!? Why kill the innocent people!? I don’t understand!” Cassian yelled confusingly at Krennic.

 

“Ah. You see, that’s the beauty of Project KALLOS.” Krennic starts to explain. “The nerve gas is engineered so that it only targets anyone disloyal to the Galactic Empire.”

 

It is this moment that Jyn & Cassian become the most confused they have ever been. They were also terrified by the sound of the explanation. Jyn asks her question. “Targets people not loyal to the Empire!? W-What the hell is this!?” She asks with a sense of great horror in her voice. She started to become afraid but also angered by the project.

 

Krennic holds up a finger to silence Jyn so that he can continue to explain. “The KALLOS nerve agent is a biological weapon capable of catastrophe at the molecular level. The nerve agent enters the subject’s bloodstream, and upon insertion, the agent binds itself to the victim’s DNA, the carriers of our molecular genetic code.” Orson then starts pacing back and forth in front of the two Rebels, and they keep their eyes on him. “The agent can detect your thoughts. It knows what goes on in your brain, your subconsciousness. And so…..it knows your disloyalty to the Empire.” He then ends the explanation with a mean glare at Jyn and Cassian.

 

“DNA???” Jyn mutters as she stares at the floor, shocked by what her archenemy just explained, and the thoughts of her dying from the nerve agent sent chills down her spine.

 

Then, Cassian finally put the pieces together in his head. He finally realized something. “No wonder why those innocent people died….and not the Imperial troopers.” Cassian mutters quietly as he, too, stares down at the floor like Jyn. “……The gas kills those who are against the Empire.”

 

“Precisely!” Orson confirms as he deactivates the holographic projection device and stores it away into his uniform’s pocket. “This new founding of the bioengineering of the gas agent pioneered a new plan that I will lead for the Empire. One that will be…..” Krennic pauses for a moment to smirk evilly at his two captives. “……a dream come true.”Krennic finishes, then gives a sinister chuckle as Jyn & Cassian stare at each other in shock. “Yes….my scientists and engineers have done such a job well done under my supervision of the new weapons project. It’s a masterpiece!” Krennic says with a closed fist at the end of the sentence.

 

Jyn and Cassian are both speechless.

 

“Oh, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Krennic says with a smirk. “The KALLOS nerve gas just….eats away at you. The burning and melting of flesh from the bone. The screams of billions singing out in choir and perfect harmony.” Krennic approaches Jyn and Cassian and bends down to rest his hands on his knees so that he is eye-level with them. “It obliterates you from the inside out. A slow……painful……death.” Krennic says in such a sinister, eerie tone that it sent chills down Jyn and Cassian’s spines, and it makes them gulp. “A fate worse than death itself. Hell, a death far, far worse than our tragedy in Scarif!” Orson says as he straightens back up, referring to their first deaths on Scarif.

 

Then, Orson glares at his two Rebel captives.

 

“Project KALLOS: the perfect weapon to use against the Rebellion.” Krennic finishes.

 

It is this moment that Jyn & Cassian become shocked, and their fear levels finally spike to a very high gradient. Jyn shakes her head in denial, not wanting to accept the information she is hearing from the cruel old man in the white uniform. “N-NO! NO! NOT ON THE REBELLION!” Jyn yells in agony as she begins to feel a tear exiting her eye.

 

“Why, yes! “ Krennic replies as he paces around the cell once again. “Last year, I was to eradicate all those Rebel scums with KALLOS, in that base……planet Hoth, I believe it is.” He says. However, this catches Jyn & Cassian’s attentions, for they look up at him immediately with serious faces. This, somehow, sounded very familiar to them.

 

“Hoth?” Cassian mutters. He thinks about the planet Hoth and the KALLOS nerve agent for a brief moment, and as he does this, Jyn looks at him, because she realizes too what had happened a year earlier. “Wait a minute…..t-that ballistic missile…..the submarine in the Jedi Straits….the green cloud of gas…..that was Project KALLOS!?” Cassian asks in a shocked state as he and Jyn look up at Krennic with widened eyes.

 

Krennic nods. “Exactly.”

 

Hearing Orson Krennic’s confirmation, Jyn & Cassian stare at him with shocked eyes, because the terrible memories of that day replayed in their head.

 

((()))

 

_1 year earlier, on planet Hoth_

 

_In the blink of an eye, the ballistic missile detonates in midair._

_There is a flash of white light in the skies._

_And then, in the next moment, a dark green cloud aura of gases suddenly engulfs the area. To Jyn & Cassian’s increasing surprise, they see that all the remaining Rebels still on the grounds dropped their weapons and were twitching & screaming in pain. Jyn then covers her mouth and gasps as she witnesses several of the Rebels’ bodies & faces physically melting and deteriorating up to the point that they were unidentifiable._

_However, all the Imperial Snowtroopers remained unaffected by the gas._

((()))

Jyn winced at the thought of becoming affected by the KALLOS gas weapon. That was the last thing she, and anyone, wanted in the galaxy, pretty much.

 

“The battle in Hoth that day was merely a testing of the KALLOS experiment. My development team already went through the process of engineering the KALLOS nerve agent into its prototype stage, and so your friends, the Rebel scums, on Hoth became my first test subjects. My lab rats.” Orson says with a dirty smirk.

 

Jyn & Cassian could feel the rage of fury rising up in their blood streams. Jyn shakes her head. “You sick bastard!” She yells at Orson angrily.

 

Orson’s face then became a glare. “But you two decided to interfere with my test! And then….we had no choice but to terminate the source of the experiment.”

 

Cassian frowns. “The submarine.” He says.

 

Krennic nods. “Yes. We destroyed it with the Death Star II’s improved laser canon, now capable of destroying smaller targets than just big cities and entire planets like the first Death Star.”

 

Cassian shakes his head as he looks at Krennic in disgust. “….You wanted no traces of the KALLOS test left behind. That’s why you destroyed the submarine after Jyn and I did the damage.”

 

“Correct again, Captain Andor.” Krennic says as he paces over to Jyn. “You two seem to have a bad habit of ruining everything I’m trying to accomplish! Soon, I will make you stop.”

 

Jyn scoffs sarcastically with a sarcastic smile. “What more are you going to do to me? Whip me while I drink out of a toilet? What a disgusting piece of trash you are, Orson.” Jyn shoots at Krennic with her words. This causes Krennic to deliver a strong slap to Jyn’s face, making her close her eyes and absorb the pain.

 

“Much more worse, Jyn.” Krennic says. “Maybe it’s time you’ve been taught some manners, since your mother and father seemed to lack that lesson for you.” He taunts his former friends’ daughter.

 

Jyn grunts and tries to struggle free of the restraints, but it is pointless. She hated hearing Orson saying a word about her parents. After chuckling at her, Orson then turns back to the view of Endor from the large glass window. After a long moment of silence looming in the cell, Cassian decides to break it. “Why!? Why are you doing this, Orson!? Why would you do this kind of terror on the galaxy?”

 

Suddenly, Krennic turns to him, and he steps closer to him. “Oh. You see, this is about more than weeding out the disloyal scums that oppose the likes of the Empire. I want a new vision. A vision that will last not until the end of time, but for an eternity. I want the galaxy to know what rule it truly belongs under.” Krennic explains, but Jyn and Cassian become confused again.

 

“W-What!?” Jyn and Cassian say at the same time in confusion.

 

“This galaxy is full of corrupt, troubled citizens of all types of species, humans included. The Empire will need a new type of method to exercise its imperial rule and discipline upon those who don’t bow down to the Empire. We are the way. We are the way forward into the future of the greater good of the galaxy. Project KALLOS will make that possible!” Krennic says with a sinister smile and a fist raised. Though, the two Rebels look at him in disgust. Krennic keeps going. “The Empire will be the only true reigning order that everyone in the galaxy will obey, and with Project KALLOS, we will be unstoppable. The previous Rebellion will be wiped from the face of the galaxy soon enough, where the Empire will be free of conflict forever in time! We aim to develop a new evolution of all of humankind, and of all living things. With Project KALLOS, we will wipe out the weak, and bring forth the strong, loyal followers of the Empire. We will create a new generation that will carry on the reign of terror the Galactic Empire has yet to succeed in. The Empire is the true superior race….and we will reign supreme.” Orson Krennic finishes.

 

Upon hearing Orson’s explanation, Jyn and Cassian couldn’t believe what they had heard. They were shocked. They could see the cold, evil intentions in the old man’s eyes already. They felt as if their future had already ended. It was like as if Orson was already foreseeing the crushing defeat of the Rebellion, and the everlasting reign of their biggest, dangerous enemy the Empire throughout the galaxy, throughout the duration of time itself.

 

Jyn feels like crying. “N-No! This….this is absurd! The Empire will never succeed! The Rebellion will beat you!” She yells miserably as she feels her heart aching from the pain of hearing Krennic’s new plan.

 

Feeling Jyn’s emotions, Cassian wonders about the plan for a moment. “Project KALLOS…..the second Death Star….galactic conquest…..”

 

Then, Cassian finally realizes something. He looks up at Krennic with serious eyes.

 

“…..This doesn’t sound like anything the Empire, nor what the Emperor would do. This sounds like something you want. This…plan of yours….it strays away from the visions that the Emperor has for the galaxy and his Empire. You’re coming up with this plan under the Emperor’s nose…..while KALLOS is just the cover-up story in the Emperor’s eyes. He doesn’t know the true intention of Project KALLOS.” Cassian says clearly in a serious tone. Unbeknownst to him, Jyn was looking at him with curiosity, and then she turns her gaze to Orson. They both notice he fell silent for a moment with no words to say.

 

“….I…..” Krennic starts off, struggling to get words out. “It’s perfect! The plan will not fail!”

 

“Though….the Empire must be taken down, these troopers just do their job and enforce the Empire’s laws. They wouldn’t kill millions just to ensure the survival of the Imperial reign. That is not what the Emperor wanted.” Cassian states.

 

Jyn then realizes it. She shakes her head at Krennic in disgust. “You…..you want to come out on top and overthrow the Emperor. You’re worse than the Emperor and Darth Vader themselves! You’re a sick man!” Jyn exclaims in disgust.

 

In response, and with anger flushing into his veins, Krennic immediately punches Jyn’s and Cassian’s faces angrily, causing some traumatic physical pain to them. “Even if I did triumph over the Emperor and his dark apprentice, my supreme project will be the ultimate form of terror in the galaxy! Soon enough, I will have the unlimited power over everyone, and everything!” Krennic yells at his two captive scums as they look up at him in disgust.

 

Jyn shakes her head slowly as she frowns at Krennic when he stares directly into her forest-green eyes. “…..It sickens me to know the fact that you’ve been my parents’ closest friend for many years! My father wouldn’t do something as absurd as this! He would object against you and your idea! You’re bloody disgusting! You sicken me, bastard!” Jyn yells angrily at Krennic, feeling her true Jyn Erso ego come into play, for her fists tighten in the restraints.

 

Krennic scoffs. “Aww.”

 

Jyn shakes her head. “Your personal visions of your future for this galaxy does not justify genocide of trillions of people across the galaxy.” She says with a calmer tone now.

 

Unexpectedly, Krennic falls silent.

 

Cassian decides to inject himself into the conversation. “No one’s going to believe that this plan with Project KALLOS will be of the Emperor’s will. It will all fall on you, Director Krennic. You’ll be the one digging that grave for yourself.” The 29-year-old Intelligence Officer says truthfully, watching Orson’s face closely for a facial reaction. And he is right: some skin near Orson’s lips twitch involuntarily in response to Cassian’s statement. Cassian realizes he was getting into Krennic’s head now.

 

“…….In the end, you’re just a mass murderer, with only a lust for power, and cares for no one but himself.” Cassian strikes his words at the Director.

 

After watching Cassian deliver his strong words, Jyn turns her gaze at Krennic and says some words of her own to go along with Cassian’s. “….A bloody devil, who deserves to be damned back to hell.”

 

Feeling the rage flowing in his bloodstream, Orson Krennic yells out angrily and delivers several punches to both Jyn’s and Cassian’s abdomens, causing them to groan in pain and breathe rapidly to recover from the pain. He then points a finger at them. “Project KALLOS will be the grand entrance to a new beginning, and you two, and your previous Rebellion, won’t be alive long enough to witness it in action! You’ll be dead before you could see the light of day when KALLOS will be released by the masses!”

 

Jyn then looks up at Krennic after recovering from her pain inflicted by his punches. She looks at his eyes with pained eyes, and she shakes her head slowly as some of the hair on one of her brown fringes cover her face. “….Then…..I wish you luck, Orson. Because, now…..I swear on my mother and father that I will put an end to this madness…..and then I will kill you.” Jyn says with a deep serious tone and determined eyes. Her true reckless, aggressive, undisciplined personality that she and her mother, Lyra, shared became apparent now.

 

Though, Orson Krennic is silent for a moment, with no smile on his face.

 

“I would like to see you and your beloved Captain try.” Krennic scoffs while pointing a finger at Cassian while keeping his cold sinister eyes on Jyn. Cassian looks at Jyn, because he is speechless now. However, Jyn frowns when she notices that Krennic is looking at her chest area. Confused by this, she frowns even more when Krennic proceeds to approach her closely and insert a hand under her gray jacket to reach into her chest area, and he pulls out her kyber crystal necklace. It glows subtly in Krennic’s gloved hand. He scoffs.

 

“Yes. The pinnacle of our survival. What a miracle it was, wasn’t it?” Krennic says as he examines Jyn’s kyber crystal with his eyes. “Your father knew all kinds of things about the power of the kyber crystal. But…..did you know the kyber crystal also has its limits?” He asks Jyn, who shakes her head in denial. Then he continues. “The kyber crystal’s power of revival weakens the more a host is revived by its incredible ability. Life doesn’t last forever, darling. Surely, you and everybody should’ve known. The kyber crystal can drain itself of its power.”

 

Jyn then jerks towards him, but the restraints still hold her back. “Then what’s the point!?”

 

Krennic scoffs. “Then we shall kill each other again and again until one of us finally dies. Yes….this will be a long, amusing conflict, don’t you think, Erso girl? Hahahahaha. Mama and Papa are the only audience in attendance, from above.” Krennic laughs evilly as he decides to put the kyber crystal back into Jyn’s jacket instead of stripping it off her neck.

 

“Grrrrhhhhhhhhh!” Jyn grunts angrily as she glares at her archenemy.

 

“Well, that’s enough talk for today. Time for your nap.” Krennic says as he summons two small probe droids, hovering by themselves in the air, into the cell that wielded syringes with long needles sticking out from them.

 

Acknowledging the droid coming closer to her face, Jyn yells out some last words at her nemesis. “You won’t win! Never! You’ll never win!” She yells out her mother & father’s favorite words on Orson Krennic.

 

Krennic sighs in annoyance and rolls his eyes. “Seriously! That phrase is getting aggravating! Is it the family motto or something?”

 

As the droid near Cassian extended its needle towards his neck, he looks over at Jyn with wide eyes. “Jyn!” Cassian yells out before being stuck with the needle inside his neck, and the droid injects a sleep-inducing drug into his system.

 

Jyn shakes her head as the droid near her extended its needle towards her neck. “Get that grave ready, Orson! I SWEAR ON THE ERSO FAMILY NAME THAT I WILL BEAT YOU, AND YOU’LL NEVER WIN!” She yells with a promise as the needle pierces her neck, and the droid injects the sleep drug into her system. In a matter of seconds, Jyn and Cassian are knocked out asleep.

 

The sounds of Orson’s sinister laughs can be heard in their ears.

 

Jyn and Cassian black out.

 

((()))

 

On Endor, blaster bolts fly everywhere: past trees, past bushes, past soldiers, and past Ewoks as Rebel forces defend their position at the bunker where the Death Star II’s shield generator was contained. However, Princess Leia and Han Solo are able to disable the generator with the help of their group of Rebel troops protecting them from the waves of Stormtroopers patrolling the area. The Death Star II’s surrounding force shield is now rendered disabled and nonfunctional, and is now vulnerable to Rebel air squadron offense.

 

And just outside the doors of the bunker were some more Rebels defending them, with Chewbacca and K-2SO shooting back at Stormtroopers with their blasters. However, K-2SO begins to wonder about something…..

 

“Where in the world is Jyn and Cassian!?” K-2SO exclaims to himself as he shoots another Stormtrooper with his blaster from afar.


	36. Her Unforgotten Memory

**Chapter 36: Her Unforgotten Memory**

Punch after punch.

 

Blow after blow.

 

Fist after fist.

 

Groan after groan.

 

Scream after scream.

 

Pain after pain.

 

Suffering after suffering.

 

That was how it was for Jyn and Cassian in the brig of the Empire’s Death Star II for the past couple of hours. Jyn and Cassian were helpless, since they were the only Rebels onboard the Imperial station with their wrists & ankles in tight restraints. A couple of Stormtroopers were standing in front of Jyn and Cassian inflicting as much pain and damage to them as they could. They used a wide range of torture weapons, such as melee batons, stun rods, using the stock butt of their blasters, their fists, slaps to the cheeks, droids, and other things. Jyn and Cassian were basically sitting ducks that had the life being drained from them. They were being held in the space station against their will.

 

Jyn spat her blood from her mouth, for blood was bleeding from her lips, and they stained her teeth. Her head hung down as the Stormtrooper took a moment to recover from delivering a long series of punches and kicks to her. Jyn breathes rapidly to gasp for air, and Cassian, on the other hand, felt angrier the more he watched Jyn suffer physically. He ignored every bit of physical pain that he endured from the Stormtrooper that was beating him. He could feel his lips pressing against each other, because his anger started to conquer him, though he knew he was not able to move & retaliate because of the restraints.

 

The Stormtrooper in front of Jyn finally speaks. “We could go on all day if you’d like.”

 

After gasping in enough air, Jyn raises her head to look at her Stormtrooper with groggy-looking eyes and speaks back at him. “Y-Y-You…..you’re all…….” Jyn gulps to swallow, then she coughs. Then she continues to finish. “…..You’re all monsters.” She mutters miserably, but a hint of her true angered self could be sensed in her words by Cassian, since he knew her too well already.

 

The Stormtrooper punches Jyn in the face again. “Think what you want. You are the scums that this galaxy doesn’t need.” The Stormtrooper says harshly.

 

Cassian glares at Jyn’s Stormtrooper angrily and shakes his head slowly. “I hope you die with your words, psychopathic jerk.”

 

The Stormtroopers both proceed to beat Cassian, and Cassian groans in pain with each punch as Jyn watches helplessly, with anger flowing in each vein in her body. With each punch Cassian sustained, Jyn’s teeth pressed against each other harder in anger. She felt so weak, so miserable, so humiliated, and so helpless. She wondered how much longer she and Cassian could take all this pain, and how much longer until something happens.

 

Suddenly, Jyn realizes something. This imprisonment, this torture, it all brought back terrible memories: terrible memories of being a prisoner in her late teens and up to the point until she was recruited into the Rebellion by K-2SO and Cassian. She felt this misery in the labor prison camp on Wobani 2 years ago, and after believing she was going to live torture-free & as a freed woman, she realized she is wrong. Though she hoped this was temporary. She faced the pains and terrors of being a prisoner before, and she was used to it because she knew her way around prisons. Prison is what created Jyn’s reckless, aggressive, undisciplined behavior, aside from inheriting the trait from her mother, Lyra.

 

When the door of the cell opens, another Stormtrooper enters holding Jyn’s lightsaber, which causes her to eye it immediately. Then, the two Stormtroopers beating Cassian stop the assault on him. The Stormtrooper with Jyn’s lightsaber speaks. “Take a load at this thing! She can’t have it back anymore! Let’s see how she likes it on the other end of the blade!” He says as the other two Stormtroopers start laughing.

 

Jyn and Cassian glare at the three Stormtroopers laughing at them. They felt so angered and they wanted to fight back at them for what all the torture and the pain. Jyn wished something happened right now that disrupted these Stormtroopers.

 

And she wished right.

 

The Death Star II suddenly shakes violently like an earthquake. There are loud explosions and rumbling noises coming from the surface of the space station. To Jyn, it sounds like the droppings of ground bombs and laser cannons from starfighters. And because of the powerful quakes, this causes the Stormtroopers to stumble onto the floor and look around on confusion, and this also causes one of the Stormtroopers holding Jyn’s lightsaber to drop it, and it rolls along the floor until it stops at Jyn’s feet. Cassian’s eyes widen as he sees the lightsaber at Jyn’s feet and he looks at her to try to signal her to grab it.

 

And Jyn is already working on it: she closes her eyes to focus on the power of the Force that is housed inside her soul. Though it was hard at first, she is in a battle with the Force. In a quick second, she feels the restraints on her wrists and ankles unlock, much to her relief. Upon freeing herself from captivity, Jyn Force-grabs her lightsaber by reaching out to it, and it pulls instantly to her grasp. She activates the purple plasma blade, and she proceeds to strike down the three torturers dressed in white armor. Jyn then proceeds to unlock the restraints on Cassian, much to his astonishment and relief.

 

As she frees him, Cassian places a hand on her bloody bruised cheek, and they look at each other in the eyes for a long moment.

 

“We need to get out of here.” Cassian tells Jyn. She nods in agreement as she deactivates her lightsaber and keeps it held in her hand. Cassian grabs her by the wrist and pulls her along with him out of their cell and into the hallway of the brig. In there was a window that had Endor in view, and they see that TIE fighters, X-Wings, and Y-Wings were occupying the airspace above the surface of the Death Star II. Green and red laser bolts fly everywhere as Imperial anti-aircraft blaster turrets go off.

 

“The Rebellion is here!” Jyn says, surprised. “They have probably shut down the station’s shield by now.” She says to Cassian, turning to face him to do so.

 

Cassian nods down at her. “Then it won’t be long until this place blows to smithereens and we die along with it. We need to hurry!” He warns as he pulls Jyn along with him, exiting the brig and finally coming to a hallway. Upon appearing in the main corridors of the Death Star II, the first thing Jyn and Cassian see in front of them were Stormtroopers rushing up & down the halls, for they were getting into their defense stations against the attacking Rebel X-Wings and Y-Wings. Loud distressed chatters and yells emitted everywhere: it is so chaotic that most of the Imperials are too busy to even notice that Jyn and Cassian had escaped from their prison cell. After looking around swiftly and under pressure, Cassian finally spots a sign o the wall that pointed in the direction that he was looking for.

 

“Look! The escape pods are in the lower floors!” Cassian yells over the loud chatter of Imperials as he points at the sign that had an arrow pointing in the direction where an elevator was. “Come on!” Cassian says as he pulls Jyn along, and so she just follows him from behind.

 

Upon reaching the elevator, the door opens immediately much to Jyn & Cassian’s convenience, but their luck is now on the low, because a group of Stormtroopers led by an officer were present in the elevator, and they were face-to-face with the Rebel escapees: Jyn and Cassian. The two Rogue One members felt their hearts sink the moment their eyes came in direct contact with the Imperial faces.

 

“Hey! It’s the prisoners!” One of the Stormtroopers says.

 

Suddenly, using her quick, aggressive reflexes, Jyn turns on her purple lightsaber and immediately takes down all the Imperials in the elevator in the blink of an eye: plasma energy sliced through armor & flesh like a silver knife through butter. Then, Jyn deactivates her lightsaber.

 

However, this killing causes some Imperial heads to turn toward the elevator, causing Jyn and Cassian to finally be sighted in the midst of the confusion & loud commotions throughout every hallway in the Death Star II. Cassian grunts in frustration as he grabs Jyn by the shoulders and pulls her along into the elevator with him. “Damn!” Cassian curses.

 

A Stormtrooper points his blaster at the elevator. “The prisoners are escaping! Get them!” He warns to his comrades as a group of Stormtroopers come to his assistance, and they start firing blasters at Jyn & Cassian.

 

But Cassian quickly closes the elevator before the blaster bolts could reach the interior of it, and instead hitting the metal door. Jyn & Cassian both sigh in relief as they both lean against the wall, waiting for the elevator to reach the lower floor where the escape pods were anchored. After catching their breaths for a while, Jyn eventually faces Cassian, looking up at him.

 

“B-But Cassian….what about Luke?” She asks.

 

Cassian looks down at the green pair of stardust-filled eyes in front of him. Though, he wanted to answer her with what she wanted, he knew they had to go with his decision. “Luke can take care of himself. He’s a self-trained Jedi.” He assures her.

 

Jyn frowns at him. “But…”

“Jyn!” Cassian raises his voice at her, causing Jyn to stop talking and look up at him with puppy eyes. “Let’s worry about us.” The Captain orders his Sergeant. Feeling defeated, and feeling that he is right after all, Jyn nods slowly as she turns away from Cassian. They both wait until the elevator comes to a stop and brings them to the chamber where the escape pods were.

 

When the elevator door opens, a single technician is already in the pod chamber apparently doing some maintenance checks on the pods, though he immediately spots Jyn & Cassian coming out of the elevator. He points at them. “Hey! What are you doing here!?” The Imperial technician exclaims. But in the blink of an eye, Jyn activates her purple lightsaber and strikes him down before deactivating it once again.

 

Cassian looks around at the several escape pods in the chamber. “All of them are down, but that one still works!” He says to Jyn when he points at an open escape pod that is completely maintained and in functional condition. The two of them enter the pod before Cassian pushes a button near the hatch to close it. And, without hesitating, Cassian immediately dashes towards the controls and activates the pod, and then he begins to release the lock that is anchoring the escape pod in the dock.

 

However, just as the pod’s locks are being released, Jyn & Cassian both gasp and turn their attentions to the pod’s hatch window when a loud banging sound occurs in front of it. They both see that Orson Krennic appears, banging on the hatch’s window with anger. They can sense the anger and the fury in Krennic’s blood, because they can see the evil of the dark side in his cold eyes as he hits the window with his tight gloved fists. Jyn & Cassian stand there, in the pod, staring at the angered Krennic, until the pod eventually pulls away from the dock and Krennic’s fists were out of reach.

 

Krennic yells angrily at the top of his lungs while pointing at the departing escape pod. “THIS ISN’T OVER!”

 

Cassian, while staring back at Krennic’s eyes coldly, mutters. “…..You will be.”

 

((()))

 

Cassian is frustrated when the escape pod begins to pilot itself in autopilot. He keeps pressing the various buttons on the control panel, but it is useless because the pod refused to respond. He bangs on the controls with a hardened fist in frustration. “This ship isn’t responding! They must’ve set a fail-safe protocol in this ship’s programming system! Damn!” Cassian exclaims, for he is dismayed that the pod isn’t able to steer itself anywhere, let alone back to Endor nor the Rebel fleet.

 

“How do we get back to the Rebels!?” Cassian asks. But there is silence. He speaks again. “Jyn?” He says his Sergeant’s name as he turns around to look at Jyn. Jyn sat there in one of the seats, where she was looking out of one of the windows of the pod, watching the space battle between the Rebellion’s X-Wings and the Imperial’s TIEs taking place. One of the Rebel ships Jyn noticed in the dogfight is the Millennium Falcon, which seemed to be doing a great job at defending the X-Wings over the airspace.

 

She wondered who was piloting the Falcon if Han & Chewbacca were on Endor.

 

Cassian watches too, silently, as he stands next to Jyn. They watch as their pod slowly drifts away in the distance from the battle, away from the Death Star II, away from Endor, away from their Rebel friends. After a few minutes, Cassian sighs in dismay, and he closes his eyes to massage the bridge of his nose. He didn’t know what to do now. He and Jyn were helpless sitting ducks in an Imperial escape pod that was basically an unmanned aircraft, and he wondered where the pod would take them.

 

Cassian then opens his eyes and stands next to Jyn so that he is facing her from her left. He stares down at her with a serious face. He notices that Jyn did not say a single word since boarding the pod in the Death Star II. He noticed the shock state that she is in because of her eyes: they couldn’t stop staring off into the distance of endless space. She is speechless, she is frozen: frozen in time, it looks like. Deciding to get Jyn’s attention, Cassian places a hand on her shoulder. “Jyn?”

 

Suddenly, Cassian jerks back slightly and removes his hand off Jyn’s shoulder when she swiftly stands up from the seat, looks up at him, and backs away from him. Cassian frowns at her, and he keeps his gaze into her green eyes. Cassian knew something.

 

The familiar beautiful green eyes he always loved staring into were different eyes this time.

 

Cassian could see that Jyn’s eyes were full of fear. Her eyes were full of shock. Her eyes were full of pain. Her eyes were full of hurt. And he had a very good clue of why she appeared like that before him.

 

Jyn is afraid and hurt.

 

Cassian realizes that the torture, the drifting away from the Rebellion, and the abandoning of the mission sent Jyn into a state of post-traumatic stress.

 

Cassian attempts to touch Jyn’s shoulder again, but, again, she backs away from him by pushing his hand away with her shoulder. Cassian could see the sad, pained, & shocked eyes on her face are already enough to tell him that Jyn has become greatly affected by the torture, mostly. It was the most physical pain she ever endured in her life so far: worse than her rough past experiences as a lone teenager & a former criminal in many prisons. Cassian decides to take a much more calmer approach to her. “Jyn…? Jyn, it’s me. Cassian.” He says softly in a gentle tone.

 

Jyn stares directly into his eyes for a very long moment. Her brain registers his face into her memory, and she recognizes him. Then, Jyn proceeds to turn around and cross her arms so that her back faces Cassian. And Cassian figures that she didn’t want to say a word at the moment, and he completely understood.

 

Suddenly, Cassian didn’t know why, but he finds his hands automatically undressing Jyn’s injured body.

 

He slowly, and gently, strips off every one of Jyn’s clothing one by one, so that all her clothes fall to the floor except for her kyber crystal necklace that she always wore around her neck. Jyn stands still as he did so, and Cassian winces like as if a knife stabbed him in the neck when he sees how badly injured Jyn’s body looked.

 

“Oh, damn….!” Cassian mutters loudly with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

 

Cassian sees that there were dark purple bruises and red deep cuts all over her body. They covered just about every region of Jyn’s short, slim body: her back, her butt, her limbs, her shoulders. Seeing the sight of his girlfriend’s abused flesh instantly enrages Cassian: both of his hands close tightly into fists. He felt like killing someone right now, and that someone was Orson Krennic, his & Jyn’s archenemy, the man that they truly hated. “….I…..I’ll kill those fuckers…..” Cassian mutters angrily under his own breath, but Jyn hears him since he is standing right behind her, letting him examine her naked, damaged body. At this point, after hearing him say those words, Jyn could feel tears in her eyes and her lips tremble.

 

Jyn becomes terrified at what she sees right in front of her: in the window in front of her, she could see the reflection of herself. The many cuts & bruises on the front side of her body and her face already sends Jyn into a break down. She finally saw what the Imperial scumbags had done to her body, her beautiful short young body that her lover, Cassian Andor, cherished so much. Jyn covers her face as the river of tears pour down her cheeks, and she sobs loudly. Jyn cries her saddest feeling yet.

 

And Cassian felt like crying too. He felt sad and angered at the same time. But he and the love of his life were trapped in a pod in autopilot, and there was no point in getting angry at the moment. Cassian places his hands on his hips to look around. And when he looks at the wall to his left, he sees a bag with a couple of capsules of blue fluids in them. Cassian feels his heart rise, and he breathes a sigh of relief as he grabs the capsules and holds them in front of the crying Jyn.

 

“Jyn, look. Bacta capsules.” Cassian tries to get Jyn’s attention, but it is no use. The pain was already too much on her shoulders. Luckily, Cassian found these bacta capsules that contained a blue liquid, which healed wounds efficiently, and this was the perfect time to use them on their extreme injuries. The 29-year-old Captain proceeds to inject Jyn with the bacta fluid. “This should do. It’ll be a while, but you’ll be fine, baby. I promise.” Cassian assures Jyn while she is still crying excessively. He then proceeds to inject himself with the other capsule of bacta medication before discarding the capsules and standing in front of Jyn.

 

Cassian places his hands on Jyn’s shoulders, which cause her to stop her cries, and she looks up at his brown eyes. Cassian couldn’t help but cherish the reddened, teary, sad green eyes gazing up at him. Her breaths hyperventilate, which Cassian finds even more attractive. Wanting to comfort Jyn, Cassian gently strokes Jyn’s hair with one hand. “We’ll be alright. I’m here, Jyn. I’m here, with you. It’s only us now. We’re...safe.” He calmly whispers to Jyn. Jyn blinks away a few tears while keeping her stare into his eyes.

 

Then, Cassian gently wraps his arms around Jyn, his lover. Though, she doesn’t return the embrace, she presses herself firmly into Cassian’s chest. Her bare, naked breasts press against the warmth of his blood-stained long-sleeved shirt. She feels slightly better in this position, and she wanted both of them to stay like that for a long while.

 

“I won’t let anyone hurt you anymore…” Cassian whispers into Jyn’s ear while staring out one of the windows of the escape pod. And Jyn receives the clear message completely, and so she closes her eyes gently as she lets Cassian embrace her naked, injured but healing body.

 

It wasn’t until a couple of hours later that the escape pod is completely away & distant from the proximities of Endor, the Death Star II, and the Rebel fleet. The pod is travelling through an infinite void of the universe, where it seems as though there will be no end. Cassian figured that the pod had some sort of signal built into its system that he is certain it will land them on a random planet eventually, which is the least that he could hope for him & Jyn. Cassian sighs in boredom as he rests his hands on the controls in front of him, and he stares out the front window, watching the vast number of stars & asteroids pass by in the distance. He was getting hungry. He was getting thirsty. He was getting impatient.

But suddenly, Cassian is surprised when he feels a pair of arms drape over his shoulders. He looks behind him to see Jyn standing right behind him, and he sees that her body is still bare naked.

 

“Hey.” Cassian says.

 

But Jyn ignores him. Instead, she decides to reach for his hands that rested on the controls in front of them. Feeling the smooth, exciting touch of her hands on top of his, Cassian feels his heart rise as Jyn leans in closer to him so that she rests her head against his. After a brief moment of that, their hands clasp together firmly, feeling the touch of love flowing into each other. Jyn doesn’t look at Cassian; she looks out the window in front of them. And Cassian stares out the window too, watching the distant stars in the galaxy.

 

Jyn then whispers in Cassian’s ear. “….Live each day….like as if it’s our last….” Her words lase into Cassian’s ear. “I choose all of this. I choose the stars……the peace…..and you.” She finishes. Cassian absorbs those words, and he felt so relieved that he reaches one of his hands up to rest on Jyn’s arm in comfort.

 

And Jyn knew this seemed so familiar to her, because she is doing the same thing she did 7 years ago…

 

((()))

 

_“It just….feels like I’m always on a leash, you know?” Hadder Ponta tells the 16-year-old Jyn Erso as he sits next to her at the ship’s cockpit._

_He turns his head to look at her, and Jyn looks back at him with curiosity growing on her face. “It’s like I can’t ever have what I want. I can’t do what I want to do. Do you ever feel that way, Jyn?” Hadder asks her, because apparently his mother, Akshaya Ponta, restricted him from ever flying in the skies, let alone in space, after Hadder’s father and sister died._

_But, suddenly, Jyn stands up from her seat, and she stands behind Hadder’s seat so that her arms rested over his shoulders. Hadder falls silent as he watches Jyn’s hands rest over his hands. She grips the ship’s flight control stick through his hands, and she presses her head gently against his head as she flies the ship higher by ascending it gradually higher towards the top of planet Skuhl’s atmosphere._

_“If you want something……take it.” Jyn whispers into Hadder’s ear. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you have to live each day as if it’s your last.”_

_The words are sent into Hadder’s ears, and he kept them locked into his head, along with the image of Jyn’s beautiful, young, short, slim figure._

_Though, Jyn didn’t say these words out loud to Hadder, she finds herself saying them in her head…._

_“And I choose this. I choose the stars and peace…..and you.”_

((()))

 

Cassian slowly turns to face Jyn. He looks up at her beautiful forest-green eyes filled with stardust. He replays the words she just said to him, and the image of Jyn’s beautiful face stuck into his head like a dream, except it’s real. And as Jyn admires every inch of her lover’s face, she could also see another face on Cassian’s face as well.

 

Jyn could see Hadder Ponta’s face. Her very first boyfriend, who died years earlier. She viewed Cassian as Hadder’s reincarnation of some sort, at least that was how she liked to see it.

 

Cassian reaches his hand up to Jyn’s cheek to pull her head down slightly. “I love you, Jyn…” He says softly, staring directly into her cute green eyes.

 

Jyn doesn’t nod; she only stares back into Cassian’s brown eyes, and then they both kiss passionately.


	37. Outsiders

**Chapter 37: Outsiders**

“Jyn, look!” Cassian calls out to Jyn as he points towards the front window of the pod.

 

Waking from her 2-hour nap, still naked, she squints her eyes in roder to focus on whatever it is Cassian sighted from his view. When things became crystal clear in her sight, she sees from a long distance away a tan-colored planet, which appears to be a desert planet. Her eyes widen with slight excitement before Jyn faces Cassian. “I wonder what planet this is.”

 

Cassian stares into space for a moment before replying to her. “It’s…..” He says, but he struggles to remember, which makes Jyn tilt her head at him, waiting for an answer. “….Agh, I don’t remember.”

 

“Have you been there?” Jyn asks.

 

Cassian shakes his head. “I don’t think so. The more important question is, is this planet dangerous?”

 

Jyn shrugs and looks at the tan desert planet again. “I guess we’re about to find out.”

 

As the escape pod gradually drifts closer towards the tan planet, Rogue One begins to notice something coming into view, and there appears to be a security checkpoint with guards near it. The checkpoint was checking any passing aircraft that wanted to land on the desert plan if it is a legit vehicle or an unauthorized, stolen vehicle. And a stolen vehicle was exactly what Jyn & Cassian were in.

 

“Security checkpoint.” Cassian mutters annoyingly while pressing random buttons on the control panel, which were totally useless. “They’ll arrest us and confiscate this escape pod when they see it’s stolen.”

 

Though, Jyn thought for a moment, looking up at the ceiling to think.

 

Cassian turns in his seat to look at Jyn, who is still naked with all her cuts & bruises exposed. “Put your clothes on.” He tells her, and as Jyn proceeds to put her clothes back on, Cassian returns his view to the window. He sees that the pod is now closing in the security checkpoint, and it would be any minute now before something happens. “Looks like this planet has a militia of its own. The Empire might have abandoned all security on this planet recently.” He informs Jyn, noting that the guards at the checkpoint were wearing stuff other than white armor. “Damn. What are we going to do?” He says.

 

With her clothes back on, Jyn places one hand on her hip, and she looks up at the ceiling for a moment. She thinks hard. Eventually, a grand idea came to her mind, and she pulls something out of the inside of her brown vest. It is a small, rectangular-shaped device that has a tiny screen on it with a bunch of coded characters scrolling down the screen. Jyn approaches Cassian with the device.

 

“We can use this.” Jyn says while holding up the device, and Cassian looks at the device with curiousity.

 

“What is that!?” Cassian says with a frown and a tilted head.

 

“It’s a code replicator.” Jyn answers Cassian. “I can hook it up to this pod’s mainframe and forge the clearance codes & scandocs in this ship’s system. The faked codes can bypass the security checkpoint.”

 

Hearing her explain the use of the code replicator device, Cassian stares at Jyn with a serious blank face. “Wait….forging codes?” He looks off to the side for a brief moment. Then he suddenly realizes something. So he looks back at Jyn. “Forging Imperial documents. Isn’t that one of the crimes you got arrested for, Jyn!?” Cassian exclaims, remembering that Jyn’s record listed 4 crimes that she was guilty of: forgery of Imperial documents, aggravated assault against Imperials, resisting arrest from both the Imperials & the Rebellion, and possession of an unsanctioned weapon.

 

Jyn hesitates. She knows it’s true. “Umm….yes, Captain.” She replies before proceeding to hook up her code replicator to the pod’s mainframe.

 

However, Cassian shrugs his shoulders, and he finds his lips forming a slight smirk. He realizes how big of a help Jyn’s code forgery skills were. “…..Now why would they arrest you for forgery of documents?”

 

Jyn smirks as she plugs the cables into the code replicator, and she starts doing her magic. She types on the device with her thumb, thumb tapping key after key. Though, it took a very long while to forge codes in her teen years, Jyn became so skilled at it that she could fake clearance codes in less than 3 minutes. And 3 minutes was all the time she & Cassian had before the pod reached the checkpoint.

 

3 minutes has passed, and Jyn & Cassian are sitting in their seats, acting as though nothing happened. One of the guards at the checkpoint inspects the outside of their pod.

 

“We’re scanning. Please hold.” The guard says as he looks at the datapad he held in his hand, which showed the forged codes  of the ship that Jyn faked. After a minute, and after the datapad showed that the pod wasn’t Imperial or stolen, the guard nods and opens the gate. “You’re clear to enter.” The guard confirms, and Cassian nods back at him as the escape pod slowly starts drifting towards the atmosphere of the desert planet.

 

Jyn & Cassian sigh in relief.

 

“They shouldn’t have included forging documents on your record.” Cassian says with a smirk as he faces Jyn. And Jyn smirks back at him.

 

“Reckless.” Jyn says.

 

“Aggressive.” Cassian then says.

 

“Undisciplined.” Jyn finishes with a smile.

 

((()))

 

Jyn & Cassian stare at the escape pod. It had crash-landed in the sand. They landed in the middle of the desert, where the sand dunes formed an ocean-like environment. The pod ran out of fuel, and it was totaled beyond repair. Now, they had no vehicle for faster transportation. The only option was to travel on foot under the hot, dry weather. The blazing heat was present in all of the desert planet, and the sun shined brightly over the blue skies. It was noon, and Jyn & Cassian were beginning to feel the effects of the great heat.

 

Panting, Cassian covers his forehead to block some sunlight from his face. “Jyn, we’ll have to…”

“I know.” Jyn automatically finishes for him.

 

Cassian notices that the bacta medication is becoming effective: the cuts & bruises on Jyn’s face were almost completely faded away. And so, that meant Cassian’s cuts were healing and fading away as well. The two Rogue One members start walking forward in a random direction. They look all around them as they walk over a sand hill. The wind slightly breezes past their faces, with some of the wind blowing Jyn’s brunette fringes on the side of her head.

 

Cassian wonders. “Where are we?” He asks Jyn.

 

Jyn shrugs her shoulders. “Not sure…”

 

Cassian sighs, but notices that Jyn’s face starts to sweat. Though, he found it attractive for some reason. As an instant involuntary response, he finds himself removing his brown jacket and draping it over Jyn’s head, which surprises her. Cassian is now in his beige long-sleeved shirt, and he decided to give Jyn his jacket to cover herself from the sun, because that’s how much he loved her.

 

An hour passes, and they still find themselves in the middle of nowhere. Neither Jyn or Cassian said a word to each other. Only silence and the sound of passing winds filled the air. So, Cassian decides to break it.

 

“We have no way of contacting the others. The Imperials took our equipment and commlinks.” Cassian reminds Jyn as he walks alongside her, shoulder-to-shoulder.

 

“And our weapons.” Jyn adds. “….Except this.” She says, lifting her brown vest to show her lightsaber hanging from her waist belt, hidden behind her brown vest so no one notices, or thinks that she is a Jedi. She is only armed with her lightsaber, because her A180 blaster pistol, her thermal detonator, droid caller, commlink, and her iconic personal favorite melee weapon: the truncheon rod, were all confiscated when she & Cassian got imprisoned & tortured on the 2nd Death Star.

 

“And we’re basically stuck here!” Cassian exclaims loudly, almost angrily as he wipes several drips of sweat off his face. Jyn didn’t know what to say, but she kept telling herself to keep searching. There’s bound to be some sort of shelter somewhere. After a while, Cassian finds the walk boring, and so he decides to make conversation with Jyn.

 

“Ask me something.” He says out of the blue, causing Jyn to look at him with an unsure expression.

 

“Okay.” Jyn says bluntly. “How did your parents die?” She asks. But, she notices Cassian is a bit reluctant to answer her, because she knows that Cassian did not like to think about his parents. She remembers that night in Eadu, on the stolen Imperial shuttle, arguing with Cassian about his attempt to kill her father, Galen. He told her that night that he lost his parents when he was 6 years old, and she always wondered how they died. Of course, she & Cassian knew exactly how Jyn’s parents died, so Cassian knows he did not have to ask.

 

“Getting personal, I see.” Cassian mutters under his breath. “Well….we were in the house, in the village. One day, the Empire raided the village. They took all the prisoners. My parents were…..included.” Cassian explains, though Jyn could sense the pain in his voice, because he indeed sounded reluctant to tell the story in a nutshell. “My father....he told me to…..escape.” Cassian finishes as he looks down at the sand while walking alongside Jyn.

 

“Oh.” Jyn replies quietly, knowing how hurtful the memory was to Cassian.

“I was six years old.” Cassian says as he then looks at Jyn. They look at each other. Jyn knows he mentioned that age back in Eadu a couple of years earlier on the stolen Imperial shuttle. “I became a Rebel after that, to……avenge…..their execution.” Cassian ends, but his voice faded out sadly during the last few words. Jyn nods silently and looks out at the sea of sand before them.

 

“I could ask you the same, but….we know.” Cassian says.

 

After a long moment of silence while walking in the desert, Jyn decides to explain a story, which catches Cassian’s attention since both of them already knew how Jyn’s parents died. And so he listens to her closely.

 

“It was after…..that man….killed mother.” Jyn says in such a way that Cassian knew was anger mixing in with Jyn’s voice. He could clearly see this because he noticed that Jyn’s fists were tightening as she stressed the words ‘that man’ while she started her explanation. “After he….kidnapped father, I ran way. Hid underground for days, until Saw Gerrera came to rescue me. But we….” Jyn pauses, and it makes Cassian wonder why she stopped. “…..we went back to the house. Everything……everything was on fire.” Jyn says as her gaze becomes mesmerized into the sand, and she suddenly stops walking. “Everything.” She says with a hint of fear in her voice.

 

Hearing Jyn’s story when Orson Krennic killed her mother and kidnapped her father and burned their home down made Cassian realize that this memory terrified Jyn. It still terrified her up to this day. He could see the fear in Jyn’s eyes as she stared down at the desert sand. He got a clue of how afraid Jyn was, because the memory of watching the Erso homestead burn down engraved itself into Jyn’s memory when she was 8 years old. The 8-year-old little girl watching her home being burned to ashes by the Empire was one of the most terrifying experiences, Cassian figured, and so he knew how much it still affected Jyn.

 

“The fire….” Jyn whispers.

 

“Hey.” Cassian says calmly as he wraps an arm around Jyn’s shoulders to comfort her, urging Jyn to shake off the terrible memories of that very day when she was 8 years old.

 

They both continue walking.

 

“But, how is it the homestead wasn’t burnt down when we were…..revived?” Cassian asks, remembering a couple of years earlier that the afterlife automatically transported them to Lah’mu in front of the Erso home after Jyn’s kyber crystal miraculously granted them a second life.

 

Jyn finally looks up at Cassian with less scared eyes. “I guess the Force has its ways of bringing back what’s down.”

 

Scoffing and agreeing with her, Cassian places a gentle kiss on Jyn’s forehead as they continue walking in the hot, dry desert of the unknown planet.

 

((()))

 

After a couple more hours of traversing through the desert on foot, Jyn & Cassian are finally relieved when they see that there is an outdoor landspeeder rental agency in the middle of the desert. They see that there are several humans, as well as non-human species, making rentals on different types of landspeeders designed to suit a certain need. Knowing they needed transportation, Jyn and Cassian don’t hesitate to approach one of the clerks.

 

“Excuse me. How much to rent that 2-seater speeder?” Cassian asks, pointing at a 2-seater landspeeder parked in one of the docks.

 

“It will cost about 200 credits for a one-day rent!” The clerk says out loud in a stern attitude.

 

Upon hearing the price of the rental, Cassian sighs in dismay as he looks at Jyn. Jyn gives him a confused look. “Ok. Thanks.” Cassian says, then turns around to walk away.

 

However, Cassian stops, then turns back around to face the clerk again. “By the way…..what planet is this?” Cassian asks.

 

Though, confused for a moment, the clerk figured he & Jyn were outsiders from elsewhere in the galaxy who never stepped foot on such a planet with harsh environmental conditions. “You’re on the planet Tatooine.”

 

Cassian nods with a dirty smirk. “Thanks.”

 

Turning back to Jyn before she could ask why he didn’t decide to accept the rent, Cassian automatically explains away. “Jyn, I only have less than 100 credits left with me. The Imperials took most of my credits.” Cassian reveals as he points at the personal identifier transponder device attached to the breast area of his brown jacket, which Jyn was carrying on her arm now. Jyn sighs in dismay too, but then, something came to her mind. And Cassian could read her face like a book: he knew what she was thinking.

 

Cassian looks at the rack of keys that is behind the rental counter where the clerks were dealing with the other renters. He knew exactly what Jyn is going to do.

 

Jyn’s spirit binds with the power of the Force as she opens her hand. In the blink of an eye, the key to the 2-seater landspeeder flies through the air and attracts straight to her hand as Jyn Force-grabs it without any of the clerks seeing it. Jyn & Cassian smile at each other after hopping into the 2-seater landspeeder, which appeared to be an X-34 landspeeder, only exclusive to Tatooine.

 

In a split second, the engine of the X-34 speeder roars loudly, and it takes off swiftly from the rental agency.

 

The clerk that interacted with Cassian ran out and waved his arms around angrily. “HEY!!!! COME BACK HERE!”

 

Luckily, there were no security guards stationed at the rental center.

 

Jyn, sitting in the passenger seat, looks over at Cassian, who is driving the speeder, and winks at him. He smiles back at her, thanking those pair of green beautiful eyes. If it wasn’t for Jyn, Cassian would be finding himself in more difficult situations. He needed Jyn for life.

 

“Former criminal, huh?” Cassian says as he feels the wind gushing against his short black hair & face.

 

Jyn scoffs. “I’d like to think of it more as experience.”

 

Cassian shakes his head while chuckling. He figured Jyn stealing the key was something she would do in her past as a lonely young criminal. And he loved this former criminal sitting next to him. He found her useful, useful in all kinds of situations: combat, companion, home, outside worlds, and especially love.

 

“You really are a naughty woman, aren’t you?” Cassian says with a smile. “You get it from your mother.”

 

Jyn returns her own dirty smirk at Cassian, confirming her answer.

 

((()))

 

A couple of more hours passed, and the X-34 speeder was parked in the middle of the desert under the hot blazing sun. It was late afternoon, and the weather was at its hottest peak of the day. Cassian stopped the speeder because he saw a group of people walking on foot in the desert, equipped with items to survive in the desert, of course. Cassian wanted to ask them questions, and they were more than glad to give him information. After getting answers, Cassian walks back to the speeder.

 

When he approaches the X-34 speeder, he stands in front of the passenger seat’s door, leaning aginst it and leaning in towards Jyn, who sat back in the seat with a heavily sweaty face, wet brunette hair, and a blank emotionless face. It was extremely hot, and they were travelling with a landspeeder that had an open cockpit that caused the burning hot sun rays to shine on them from above, and they were still wearing their Rebel pants & long-sleeved jackets in the heat.

 

“Hey.” Cassian says to the sweaty, dehydrated Jyn. “They said the nearest city is a few miles away. It’s called Mos Eisley.”

 

Jyn nods without saying a word, since she wasn’t feeling well. She was dehydrated and hot from the extremely hot, dry weather, and she & Cassian hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since their escape from the 2nd Death Star. Nonetheless, Cassian found Jyn beautiful, and he places a gentle kiss on her salty lips, to which she reciprocates as well, before hopping back into the driver’s seat and driving the landspeeder towards Mos Eisley.

 

((()))

 

Eventually, Jyn & Cassian arrive in the city of Mos Eisley, which serves as a spaceport for the residents and incoming ships from outside Tatooine. As their X-34 landspeeder cruises slowly in the streets of the city, Jyn & Cassian watch as the city’s citizens peacefully mind their own day business. Other landspeeders cruise around. Humans & non-human species interact with one another, doing business. There were outdoor markets for anything ranging from food to clothes to mechanical parts & tools. The two lost Rogue One Rebels figured that Mos Eisley is a peaceful, calm city with not much trouble going on.

 

“I thought there’d be Stormtroopers stationed in this place. I’m glad there aren’t any of those Imperial scums.” Cassian says to Jyn as he turns a corner onto another area, noting that the surrounding buildings were round-shaped rather than rectangle prism-shaped.

However, Jyn thought for a moment. “….Didn’t Luke used to live here?”

 

“Luke?” Cassian says while turning his attention to Jyn. Then, he realized. “That’s right. He did, didn’t he? If he was with us right now, he’d know his way around this place.” The 29-year-old Captain mutters as he suddenly finds a building of extreme interest. It caught the attentions of both Jyn and Cassian’s eyes, and they felt they just had to check it out. After parking the X-34 landspeeder nearby, Cassian exits it and helps Jyn to her feet. Though he says something to her. “Jyn…we need to keep low.”

 

Jyn automatically nods in agreement as she makes sure her kyber crystal necklace is tucked & hidden behind her gray long-sleeve shirt, and her lightsaber concealed behind her brown vest. Jyn intertwines her fingers in Cassian’s fingers so that they were holding hands as they walked from their speeder and entered the interesting building.

 

As they come inside, they are greeted by a large crowd of citizens all over the place. They see many humans & non-human species conversing with each other, men drinking alcoholic beverages at the bar, several groups of people laughing, some people playing some kind of table game, and many other stuff. They even see in the back of the area that a band was playing some music.

 

Jyn & Cassian figured right when they concluded that the city is indeed peaceful, now that the Empire abandoned all stationary operations on Tatooine a couple years earlier after the first Death Star was destroyed by Luke. Tatooine seemed to have its own militia policing the planet now.

 

Their survey of the area came to a halt when their attentions are turned to the bartender behind the bar speaking to them. “Welcome to the Cantina!” He greets Jyn & Cassian, though they look at each other before they approach the bar slowly. “Can I get you two anything to drink?” He asks Cassian.

 

Cassian already knew what he and his girlfriend needed.

 

“We’ll need water. LOTS of it.” Cassian says as he looks at Jyn and wipes some sweat off her face.

 

“Water, huh?” The bartender scoffs. “Alright then.”

 

The bartender then turns around, but stops when he feels that Cassian grabs his arm, causing the bartender to look at Cassian.

 

“Wait.” Cassian says. “…..Also….give us something with a little…..healing power, something that could settle us in for the night.” Cassian says in such a secretive manner that Jyn found surprising. “Bacta juice, perhaps.” Cassian says. Then he looks at Jyn. “……Make sure it’s shaken……not stirred.”

 

Hesitating for a moment in confusion, the bartender nods. “Right on it.”

 

As Jyn & Cassian stood at the bar counter waiting for their drinks to be served, Jyn feels a couple strong taps on her shoulder. She gets startled when she sees a dangerous-looking stranger in raggedy dark clothes approach her from the side. Jyn scoots away towards Cassian while keeping her eyes on the man.

 

“Hello, cutie. Care to have a drink with me?” The stranger says with an ugly smile. He places a hand on Jyn’s hand, but she pulls her hand away to shake off his hand.

However, Cassian could see this happening from the corner of his eye, and his hand tightens into a fist as he feels the anger flowing in his veins now. Hearing and seeing this stranger attempting to harass Jyn brought up the painful experiences of him & Jyn’s imprisonment and brutal physical torture on the 2nd Death Star, and he vowed to himself to fight harder for her, to be a better protector for her than he was the first time they met.

 

“Take your hand off her! She’s with me!” Cassian raises his voice, while just keeping his eyes’ gaze towards the bar.

 

Cassian’s response triggers the stranger, because the stranger eventually takes his hand off Jyn and slowly approaches Cassian, giving him a pissed off facial expression.

 

“Nobody asked you, scumbag.” The stranger insults Cassian.

 

Cassian feels his Rebel reflexes kick in. In the blink of an eye, Cassian drives his elbow into the stranger’s stomach, causing him to grunt in pain. Then Cassian kicks the side of the stranger’s kneecap, breaking it, and sending the man screaming in agony. After breaking the stranger’s knee, Cassian grabs ahold of the stranger’s cloak and wraps it around his throat so that he chokes on it, and Cassian grabs a nearby knife on the bar counter and drives it through the cloak, into the counter. As a result, the stranger is pinned to the bar counter, choking & screaming in pain.

 

Cassian confiscates the stranger’s blaster from his waist holster and hands it to the bartender casually as he takes the drinks for him & Jyn. The bartender then signals for security to arrest the stranger. While the security guards are arresting the subdued stranger, Cassian asks the bartender a question.

 

“What song is that band playing?” Cassian asks, pointing at the band playing the music in the Cantina.

 

The bartender shrugs his shoulders. “They just call it Cantina Band.”

 

Cassian nods. “Catchy tune.” Cassian comments calmly before walking towards an empty nearby booth with Jyn, with their drinks in their hands.

 

“I guess this place is half-friendly, still.” Jyn says as she sits down in the booth with Cassian and gulps down the glasses of water in quick succession before moving on to the bacta juice & wine mix that Cassian specially ordered, since she is extremely thirsty from the dehydration that was caused by the extremely hot weather of Tatooine. She was used to both hot and cold weather, however, since she & Cassian were Rebels, who were trained to withstand and perform combat in both extreme weather conditions.

 

Cassian takes a sip of his bacta wine before leaning back into the seat with Jyn and wrapping an arm around her. “At least this planet had the courtesy of giving us refuge.” He says as he places a kiss on Jyn’s dried, salty cheek. The two Rebel outsiders sit there in the booth, in the Cantina, in Mos Eisley, as they relax with bacta wine after a long day travelling in the desert and escaping from Imperial captivity.


End file.
